With its elegant tree-lined streets and upmarket residences, Geneva’s Vandoeuvres district typifies the extreme wealth that runs through the secretive financial veins of Switzerland.
The country, which the Tax Justice Network calls “the grandfather of the world’s tax havens”, is a magnet for those with riches of ambiguous origin. Many choose to maintain opulent Swiss residences close to their offshore assets. One example can be found on a private road in Vandoeuvres where Russian-Armenian businessman Agadzhan Avanesov lives. A society piece in the Swiss press describes him as a “discreet man who does not like to expose himself publicly”, with an interest in collecting art, cars and watches.
The Russian authorities offer a less complimentary description. They claim Agadzhan Avanesov is one of the men behind an alleged scheme that saw Russia’s Starbank go bankrupt in 2016 with US$200 million in liabilities.
