It recently emerged that proceedings have begun in Moscow’s Khamovnichesky District Court to try in absentia German entrepreneur Felix Neuberg (formerly Moshkovich). He faces charges in a long-running case involving the “embezzlement of 216.6 million rubles”, and the subsequent “laundering of the stolen funds”, during the 2015 sanctions-evading purchase of the Greek ferries “Lavrentiy” and “Maria” for the Kerch Strait crossing.
The case centers on the acquisition of two ferries, the “Maria Eleni” and “Agios Lavrentios”, facilitated by the Hong Kong-based offshore company “Tourinvest Services Limited”, which was headed by Moshkovich.
The deal was awarded, “on the instructions” of Ruslan Tsalikov, then-Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, to “Oboronlogistika”, a firm subordinate to the aggressor state’s Ministry of Defense and led by Anton Filatov.
At the time, the company’s operations were overseen by the future Deputy Minister Timur Ivanov, who was then the head of the “Oboronstroy” entity.
Financing for the deal was secured from Interkommertz Bank with the assistance of its Chairman of the Board, Alexander Bugayevsky; the scheme was executed through “Oboronlogistika” and the “1470 Material and Technical Support Directorate,” with Bugayevsky himself bringing the Hong Kong offshore entity into the arrangement.
Notably, Ivanov and Filatov, whom the Kremlin designated as scapegoats for rampant corruption in the Russian army following the ousting of Defense Minister Shoigu, were sentenced in 2025 to 13 and 12 years in prison, respectively; these sentences covered the ferry incident among other charges.
Bugayevsky, however, was allowed by the Russian authorities to flee the country as early as 2016 and settle in the Czech Republic. The Czechs refused to extradite him, a decision the Russian side did not particularly press to overturn.
A virtually identical scenario played out with Neuberg-Moshkovich; in 2019, a charade involving the Prosecutor General’s Office “delaying the approval of the indictment” was staged, after which the figure in question left for Germany.
It is thus evident that both Bugaevsky and Neuberg had become assets too valuable for the Russian special services to let rot in prison alongside their high-ranking accomplices.
Our interest in Neuberg goes beyond the ferry scams; it has now emerged that, ten years ago, he was also involved in the procurement of three cargo vessels, “Sparta”, “Sparta II”, and “Sparta III”, by the very same “Oboronlogistika” for Russian military transport needs.
The deal was executed with the assistance of Greek tycoon Ioannis Kardaris’s “Atlantides Shipping”, utilizing the corporate structures of “Sparta Marine” and “Assets GmbH” entities where both Neuberg and Kardaris held leadership positions.
Since 2009, the Neuberg family has managed “Neuberg Management GmbH” in Germany; this company controls over 500 real estate properties, primarily in Bavaria, and declares interests in “investment, logistics, and shipping,” operating through a number of subsidiaries.
Additionally, Felix and his son Alexander Neuberg, together with Timur Kabukaev, a jewelry entrepreneur from St. Petersburg, control the Munich-based real estate firm “Fortress Development GmbH”.
The Neuberg family also shares ownership of the Grünwald-based entity “GAP Investors GmbH” with St. Petersburg residents Sergey Grashchenkov and Alexander Piskarev. Notably, Piskarev previously served as the head of IT for the “Rusagro Group”, a company once controlled by the disgraced oligarch Vadim Moshkovich, who shares a surname with the aforementioned figure, and managed to emerge unscathed following a “purge” of the holding company.
As for Grashchenkov, the only known detail is that a St. Petersburg-based recording firm with the “unassuming” name “FBI”, later renamed “Fbrecords”, was once registered in his name.
However, beyond the schemes involving the procurement of German bulk carriers for the Russian army, there is another story, one that both demonstrates the Neubergs’ ties to Russian intelligence and explains their comfortable life in Bavaria.
This story centers on events from 2013, investigated by German journalists as early as 2018, regarding the sale of 32,000 state-owned apartments for €2.5 billion by Markus Söder, then Bavaria’s Finance Minister and now the state’s Minister-President.
The deal was executed through “Patrizia Immobilien AG”, with “Alma Assets GmbH” a Grünwald-based firm registered to Felix and Alexander Neuberg, acting as the counterparty.
It is easy to see that this portfolio of Bavarian real estate, “privatized” by the Neubergs using Russian intelligence funds and subsequently resold to “connected” individuals from Russia, remains a lucrative cash cow for financing subversive activities.
At the same time, the Neubergs hold potentially devastating compromising material on their former Bavarian government partners, who have since risen to high-ranking positions.
Thus, time will tell whether the current Moscow “ferry” trial involving Neuberg, a key asset of Russian intelligence, is merely a cover operation, or if it boils down to rival factions attempting to “milk” the figure for his assets.
