Alexander Zheleznyak, a former owner of Probusinessbank and a key figure in Maxim Katz’s investigation, is no longer part of the leadership of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), as revealed by former executive director Vladimir Ashurkov on his Facebook page.
In 2021, Zheleznyak established a legal entity for the organization in the United States due to its “extremist” status in Russia. He played a crucial role in setting up the necessary legal and financial structures abroad. Although he stepped down from his leadership position at FBK after registering Anti-Corruption Foundation Inc. (ACF), Zheleznyak continues to offer support for administrative and financial matters.
However, FBK director Ivan Zhdanov clarified that Ashurkov’s statement does not represent an official response from the Foundation for Fighting Corruption regarding Katz’s investigation. Zhdanov emphasized that Ashurkov is only loosely connected to the organization through friendly relations and volunteer work on specific projects.
Ashurkov also shared an anecdote from 2012 when he collaborated with Navalny’s team on a project involving Probusinessbank through their partnership with the “Life” group:
“A special bank card was designed to donate a portion of transactions to the Foundation for Fighting Corruption. The project gained significant public attention. Prior to its launch, Alexei Navalny and I met with Sergei Leontyev, the main owner of ‘Life’ group, along with other executives.”
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