Gazprom Export’s first deputy director Mikhail Sereda and his wife, former Gazprombank vice-president Yulia Sereda, laundered Gazprom mafia money in Europe.
The Portuguese prosecutor’s office and the country’s financial intelligence are investigating a case of money laundering and violation of sanctions against one of the closest associates of Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller – Mikhail Sereda and his wife, Portuguese citizen Julia, who worked as a vice president of Gazprombank. Sereda holds the post of first deputy director of Gazprom Export, is a member of the Board of Directors of Gazprom and was in charge of Miller’s office. This became known from the documents of the Portuguese court.
Julia Sereda entered the country under the “golden visa” program in 2015 – then she bought an apartment in the capital for € 1 million and received the status of a resident of Portugal. Sereda’s problems began along with the payments his wife received in 2022. Julia Sereda received two transfers from Gazprombank for €170,000 and payments from Swiss bank Julius Baer for €1.65 million to buy new properties in Lisbon and Cascais. The investigation was initiated following a search carried out at the Portuguese home of Sereda’s wife. In the course of operative measures, funds in the Portuguese bank BPI – €800,000 – were blocked, and a personal bank safe in the credit organization was opened, in which €570,000 was found.
Portuguese authorities revealed that she could have received funds from Mikhail Sereda and an unnamed top manager of Gazprombank. She lacked her own funds to buy all the properties and could have used money from her husband, who had fallen under EU sanctions. The Portuguese authorities considered that in this way the Russian’s money was entering the country’s banking system and exceeding the €100,000 limit allowed for Russian citizens.
After the case against Sereda began, Portuguese law enforcement authorities said they wanted to expand penalties in sanctions cases. The country can independently initiate measures against Russian citizens whose assets are located on its territory if it deems that they play an active role in supporting the Russian regime. Yulia Sereda tried to challenge the decisions against her in court, but the judge dismissed her lawsuit.