Chapter 698 Akhmedov’s First Bucket of Gold
"Save my life?" Xiao Peng was stunned. "Is that that exaggerated?"
Ahmedov looked at Xiao Peng and gritted his teeth, saying, "Mr. Xiao, I have a second reason for looking for you."
"Go ahead!" Xiao Peng said, "This is the main point, right?"
Akhmedov nodded. "Mr. Xiao, I heard that you are very familiar with Ivan Gavrila Vasily?"
"Ivan? What does this have to do with him?" Xiao Peng asked in confusion.
Akhmedov sighed and said, "Mr. Xiao, do you know how I made my fortune?"
Xiao Peng nodded. "How else can you Russian oligarchs make your fortunes? Almost without exception, you all made your fortunes by embezzling state-owned assets during the collapse of the Soviet Union."
Akhmedov nodded. "I don't deny that. Since the money was indeed not clean, I was afraid of being liquidated, so I fled to England like everyone else."
Xiao Peng expressed his understanding.
The UK is particularly fond of these "runaway rich people." This is related to the UK's "abnormal" economic proportion.
As one of the earliest industrialized nations, the UK embarked on a period of deindustrialization. Currently, industrial and agricultural GDP accounts for only 20% of the country's total GDP, with the remaining 80% being the service sector, with financial services accounting for the largest share.
They don't care how your money comes from, as long as you have money, we welcome you. Many economic criminals in China chose to flee to the UK. As for Russian oligarchs, there are even more - more than 95% of Russian oligarchs who fled to the UK will choose the UK, which also has political reasons.
Britain is still stuck in the glory of its former "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets" and still thinks it is the master of this planet - the phrase "ugly but unaware of it" refers to this kind of people.
Akhmedov continued: "It was a great thing to come here in the first few years, but the British economy has been in recession in the past two years, so they started to point the finger at us."
Xiao Peng suddenly understood: "Oh, it's just like raising pigs, fattening them up before killing them, is that what you mean?"
Akhmedov sighed. "Although your words may sound vulgar, that's exactly what you meant. How could my ex-wife get the British authorities to freeze my assets? Her new lover is the son of a senior judge in the British High Court."
Xiao Peng whistled, "Is this even possible? Taking both the person and the money? Hey, do you have any evidence to support your claim?"
Akhmedov nodded frantically. "I have evidence! But it's useless to show it now. The British government has frozen my funds, and I can't return to Russia..."
"Can't go back to Russia?" Xiao Peng was stunned: "What did you do back then?"
Akhmedov was silent for a moment before sighing, "I was a logistics officer in the Transcaucasian Military District of the former Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the small countries that had just separated from the Soviet Union stockpiled the most weapons."
"Transcaucasian Military District? Is it Georgia, Azerbaijan or Armenia?" Xiao Peng asked.
"Armenia," Akhmedov explained.
The former Soviet Union was divided into sixteen military districts, each responsible for a different region and with varying military deployments depending on its location. The Transcaucasian Military District borders Turkey, and the complex relationship between Turkey and Russia has led to a heavy military presence there. Armenia and Georgia, in particular, have received the most military support, especially Armenia, which boasted a massive military base. Their military might alone could rival Turkey. Azerbaijan, however, lacks a direct link to Turkey, so its military strength is relatively weak.
But everyone knows what happened later. Azerbaijan and Armenia had a fierce fight two years ago. Azerbaijan beat Armenia so badly that it couldn't find its way back.
Why is this?
On the one hand, it is because Azerbaijan's oil and gas wealth in recent years has enabled it to significantly increase its military spending, making its weapons increasingly powerful, and on the other hand, it is because...
Akhmedov said: "In those chaotic times, I made my first fortune by selling state-owned arms."
Xiao Peng nodded in understanding. In fact, many people did the same thing back then! It's also known as "profiting from national disaster." When the Soviet Union collapsed, a large number of Soviet-made weapons were released into the market this way.
He casually asked, "How much did you sell that year?"
He asked as he took out a cigar from the cigar box next to him and lit it.
Akhmedov thought for a moment and said, "We probably sold 50,000 rifles, 1,000 tanks of various types, and about 60 helicopter gunships and other military aircraft. As for miscellaneous items like missiles, we can't count them."
With a clang, Xiao Peng's lighter fell to the ground. He looked shocked and suspected he had misheard. "What did you say? How much did you sell it for?"
Ahmedov smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Xiao, at that time, due to the chaotic handover after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, a lot of data didn't match up, and no one paid attention to this aspect, so anyone could steal if they wanted! Please believe me, at that time, as long as you had a way to sell things, you would definitely make a fortune. And I really wasn't the one who sold the most things. I was just a small figure. Anyway, when the Armenian side handed over the base, it was basically sold out. And..."
"And?" Xiao Peng was confused.
Ahmedov explained, "Also, the Armenians were so anxious to gain independence at the time that they didn't care about these military equipment at all. In their eyes, independence was more important than anything else. After all, the former Soviet Union really hurt the Armenians over the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. And if I may be frank, even the ones that were left behind would be enough to make the Armenians laugh in their sleep. Otherwise, how could they have liberated Mardakot, Kalvasar, and Varanda so soon after the founding of their country? It was all thanks to the remaining weapons and equipment!"
Xiao Peng smiled bitterly and said, "Now I understand why you can't go back to Russia. What you've done is enough to get you shot in half an hour!"
Akhmedov said helplessly, "Mr. Xiao, everyone did the same thing back then, and there was no accountability. I could still live a life of luxury in Moscow. It was only after the reckoning that I had no choice but to escape."
"Everyone is responsible for their own actions." Xiao Peng said, "You've lived the life of a billionaire for decades, and you're still not satisfied? Now you have hundreds of millions of dollars in funds, can't you enjoy life however you want?"
Ahmedov said, "Mr. Xiao, this is why I came to you. I don't need the money."
"Huh?" Xiao Peng was stunned.
Akhmedov said, "I just want you to introduce me to Ivan Gavrila Vasily. I know you have a close relationship, and he has close ties with the higher-ups. I just want to go back to Russia. Even if I'm destitute, I want to die in my homeland instead of this shabby place!"
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