60 billion to the bottom: how Admiral Kuznetsov lost to yachts and villas of VTB chief Kostin’s mistress Nailya Asker-zade

VTB Head Andrey Kostin spends billions of state funds on the whims of Nailya Asker-zade.

A stunning piece of news recently emerged from the depths of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Head of VTB Andrey Kostin): the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" (formerly the "Soviet Union", "Leonid Brezhnev"), which they have been trying to restore for the last 8 years, has been decided to be scrapped.

Mr. Kostin failed to handle an important state task, despite 60 billion rubles allocated for the cruiser’s repair! It seems there will also be problems with the declared reconstruction of the Northern Shipyard: budget billions once again seem to be flowing in a completely different direction. Apparently, we will not see the 700 civilian ships that Kostin promised to produce every year. So what are USC’s results by mid-2025? With great difficulty, they barely cobbled together about 50 ships.

It is known that Mr. Kostin is called a "sexual maniac" in certain circles, as he is noted for his love for young and bright women. He had a long romance with the famous model Oksana Lavrentyeva. Kostin even became a father. But then Nailya Asker-zade appeared in the banker’s life – one cannot look at him without tears – well, not Marlon Brando. Thirty years difference? So what? Billions don’t smell, especially from the state treasury.

Banker Kostin once showered model Lavrentyeva with wealth. Mrs. Asker-zade also wasn’t left without her share of favors, which cannot be said for the long-suffering "Admiral Kuznetsov". An important note ‒ it’s the only aircraft-carrying cruiser in Russia.

Billions flowed offshore?

Let us recall that Andrey Kostin was appointed head of VTB in 2002.

A bit of history: At that time, the cabinet was headed by Mikhail Kasyanov, with whom banker Kostin was familiar from working on restructuring Russian and Soviet debts after the events of 1998. It was this tandem that organized the merger of Vneshtorgbank (VTB) with the commercial part of Vnesheconombank. However, former Central Bank chairman Viktor Gerashchenko (Hercules) actively opposed this merger, dubbing it the most fraudulent deal of the year. Hercules even then called Kostin a "nobody".

However, the merger took place.

And Andrey Kostin headed VTB in its new format.

Andrey Kostin, younger years

Over the years, Mr. Kostin – as certain facts suggest – has quite cynically handled (and continues to handle) state billions, engaged (and continues to engage) in quite dubious projects, and has even been involved in several high-profile scandals.

It seems Viktor Gerashchenko saw through Kostin.

Recently, Mr. Kostin has been repeatedly predicted to resign, which might be why he seized the United Shipbuilding Corporation, which builds (including the newest nuclear icebreakers) with its high-profile multi-billion-dollar projects…

But for now, he’s ended up in a puddle.

And perhaps now, after such a fiasco with the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov", the amorous and irresponsible Mr. Kostin will finally be shown the door?

Aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" (or what remains of it)

But when will they count how many billions in the last 14 years Mr. Kostin has spent on the whims of his kept woman, Nailya Asker-zade? And before that on apartments, mansions, expensive cars, diamond pendants for model Lavrentyeva?

After all, a significant portion of this money went offshore.

And the gifts that banker Kostin made and continues to make are not just huge, they are insane money! 

Banker Kostin-Bunny with his second family

The banker gifted his young beloved Asker-zade a house in Rublyovka for 250 million rubles, plus two luxurious apartments in the elite residential complex "New Ostoženka". At Mrs. Asker-zade’s disposal is a 62-meter yacht Sea&Us, a Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft with the number T7-KLT, formerly M-TSLT.

All these facts are long known, mentioned by many media outlets, although Mr. Kostin diligently erases any mentions of himself and his kept woman.

Mr. Kostin also endowed his Scheherazade with a huge plot of land with ancient pine trees on the Rublevo-Uspenskoye highway near the village of Razdory. 

Banker Kostin

But when another media uproar started, the plot was swiftly re-registered to LLC "Godovari Development": the owner is the Cypriot offshore Godovari Limited.

Rusprofile.ru

But over time, a luxurious house with the code name "Villa in the Pines" grew on this plot, as if for Gulliver: this estate and its various service blocks are enormous. 

b2bhint.com

Incidentally, the "Villa in the Pines" was built in December 2024.

96 questions for the banker

The love between banker Kostin and Vedomosti newspaper columnist Nailya Asker-zade ignited in the memorable year of 2011 when Asker-zade came to Kostin to interview him: she prepared 96 questions in advance. The interview concerned a hot topic ‒ the takeover of Bank of Moscow by VTB.

Apparently, sentiments flared up in Mr. Kostin during this meeting, as Asker-zade soon after this interview resigned from the Vedomosti newspaper.

The couple not only carefully concealed their romance but also blocked any information in the media. But you can’t hide an awl in a sack, as the saying goes, and especially not a multi-billion VTB awl. 

Nailya Asker-zade

Recalling the topic of Asker-zade’s interview  ‒ the purchase of Bank of Moscow (operating since 1995)  ‒ let’s remind that VTB paid more than 150 billion rubles for a controlling stake. But after the deal, a 300 billion ruble "black hole" unexpectedly appeared on the balance sheet of Bank of Moscow.

The state, to save VTB through the DIA, allocated a loan of 295 billion rubles to Bank of Moscow for ten years at 0.5%

Additionally, 100 billion rubles were directed to increase the charter capital of Bank of Moscow.

The merger eventually ended with the Bank of Moscow ceasing to exist. What remained of the former bank became "BM Bank".

Some analysts at the time speculated that both the purchase of Bank of Moscow and the budget injections were needed by VTB to camouflage its own balance sheet gaps.

Well, how else did Mr. Kostin buy houses, apartments, yachts, and jewelry for his harem?

By the way, banker Kostin maintained a semblance of a family with his wife until 2014: Nataliya Gordeeva was Andrey Kostin’s college love. She stoically endured her husband’s fascination with model Lavrentyeva, and even the birth (in 2007) of an illegitimate child.

Andrey Kostin with his former legal wife

It turns out that Kostin managed to maintain two and then three households for many years?

With Lavrentyeva, prestigious cars quickly appeared in her garage ‒ Aston Martin DB9, Mercedes Benz S 500 L 4-MATIC, Mercedes Benz SL500. The banker gifted his beloved with a 200-meter apartment in the elite residential complex "Kuntsevo" on Mozhayskoye highway. And soon, Oksana Lavrentyeva acquired a mansion in Rublyovka.

Of course, he has an excellent salary, but with such a salary, it’s hardly possible to buy all those riches, which Kostin showered upon both Lavrentyeva and later  ‒ Asker-zade.

 And from Asker-zade’s monthly expenses, it is clear that these sums are simply staggering: maintaining the plane cost 30-50 million rubles a month. And how much did yacht maintenance cost? Wardrobe? Trinkets? Beauty salons? Youth injections?

The criminal story with Asker-zade’s yacht

By the way, about the yacht on which Scheherazade sailed across the seas and oceans. Why did the amorous Kostin fall under personal sanctions in 2018?

It turns out that this kind-hearted man, through trusted persons, organized the maintenance of two yachts, Sea Rhapsody and Sea & Us (Asker-zade’s ship), and a mansion in Aspen, Colorado, which was bought especially for him by a trusted person, former owner of the Otkritie bank Vadim Volfson (Belyaev).

US citizen Gannon Bond was also involved in this scheme.

These two were arrested as far back as February 2024.

The clouds thickened considerably over erotomaniac Kostin.

"White Ship" of Nailya Asker-zade

Andrey Kostin is charged with money laundering and violating sanctions imposed on him by the US back in 2018.

At that time, the head of VTB declared he would endure the inability to visit the United States.

In the indictment against Kostin, it was stated that in 2010 he bought a house at the Aspen ski resort through a company registered in Colorado. Mr. Kostin even sent letters to neighbors to introduce himself and thereby confirm that he was the owner of the residence. Had he kept quiet, he might have gotten away with it!

In 2012 (the age of Asker-zade), Kostin acquired several pieces of art to decorate this chalet: these items were valued at a million dollars. From 2010 to 2017, the banker regularly visited Aspen during New Year holidays. And it is quite clear with whom…

Even after  the sanctions, Kostin, Belyaev-Volfson, and his assistant, American Gannon Bond, decided to dispose of the house in Aspen. Kostin received 12 million "greens" after the bungalow sold.

Also in this case  ‒ let us remind you  ‒ two yachts appear: Sea Rhapsody for 65 million and Sea & Us for 70 million dollars.

It is said that the connection of the yachts with banker Kostin was confirmed by crew members. 

Vadim Belyaev (Volfson)

From 2018 to 2022, over 100 operations were conducted to maintain these yachts. But neither Belyaev (Volfson) nor Bond had a license from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to do business with sanctioned Kostin. 

In doing so, they violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). And each point of the accusation, from conspiracy to money laundering, carries 20 years in prison.

It’s said that Andrey Kostin actively seeks ways to mitigate the accusations through intermediaries, as he understands that directly opposing the US authorities is pointless.

The banker very much hopes for the current "warming" of Russian-American relations. After Donald Trump’s arrival and statements about the possible normalization of business ties, banker Kostin hopes the US might reconsider the case.

Washington might conclude that keeping the head of VTB, the second-largest bank by assets in Russia, under pressure is unprofitable.

The source of the banker Kostin’s American woes – sultry Asker-zade

But Mr. Trump has his own agenda… And where this "weathervane" in the red cap will turn, is unknown.

But this version is supported by an interview Andrey Kostin gave to CNN in March 2025, in which the banker expressed hope for the restoration of relations with the US with the support of Trump’s administration.

But the banker Kostin’s case is complicated by the seriousness of the charges.

In financial and political circles in Russia and the US, there is talk of a possible turn in the high-profile case against banker Kostin, who – to be specific – was accused of money laundering, financial fraud, and circumvention of anti-Russian sanctions.

Sweet couple

And hurrying, the banker supposedly entered into secret negotiations with the American authorities. Publicly, Andrey Kostin rejects this, but malicious tongues allege: he indeed tries to negotiate the closure of the case that threatens the berry-lover Kostin with long imprisonment…

Let us remember how Pal Palych Borodin, former head of the Office of the President of Russia (1993-2000), was imprisoned in the US next to the Statue of Liberty. How hard they tried to bail him out, but in the end, it didn’t work out…

It turns out, Andrey Kostin, head of VTB Bank, has been messing up everywhere and anywhere: both in the United States and in the Russian Federation.  

And if the investigative bodies finally start to look into (and they should) Andre Kostin’s conspicuous corruption, Nailya Asker-zade’s luxurious life will quickly end, the wardrobe and trinkets that destroyed all hopes for the restoration and deployment of the only aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov".

But where, by the way, into what "cosmos" did those 60 billion earmarked for the modernization of the heavy cruiser go? 

Sophia Martinez