Alexander Torshin AKA Alexander Porfiryevich Torshin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Порфи́рьевич То́ршин; born 27 November 1953) is a Russian politician and banker.
Who is Alexander Torshin
Biography Of Torshin Alexander :
Alexander Porfiryevich Torshin (b. 1953) graduated from the All-Union Correspondence Law Institute in 1978. He held various positions in the prosecutor’s office of the RSFSR and worked for the Soviet Association of Political Sciences, the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Social Sciences under the Central Committee of the CPSU, and the apparatus of the President of the USSR.
Since 1992, Torshin worked in the Government Office, serving as deputy head of the department for interaction with parliament and organizations. Between 1993 and 1998, he was the State Secretary of the Central Bank of Russia. In 1998-1999, he served as the plenipotentiary representative of the Russian government in the State Duma and deputy head of the government apparatus. From 1999 to 2001, Torshin was Deputy General Director and State Secretary of the State Corporation “Agency for the Restructuring of Credit Organizations.”
Career Of Torshin Alexander
In 2001, Alexander Torshin was elected to the Federation Council as a representative of the Mari-El Republic. A year later, he became the deputy chairman of the Federation Council. In this role, he focused on interacting with the authorities of the North Caucasus and Volga Federal Districts, as well as with public and religious organizations.
In the fall of 2004, Alexander Torshin joined the United Russia party. That same year, he led a commission to investigate the Beslan school terrorist attack, which tragically resulted in numerous child casualties following an unprepared assault by security forces. As a senator, Torshin gained notoriety for introducing a bill that would allow the Constitutional Court to block the execution of decisions made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). He also proposed relocating children from orphanages in the Far East and Far North to families in the North Caucasus republics, including Chechnya.
In 2015, Alexander Torshin returned to the Central Bank of Russia, becoming Deputy Chairman and State Secretary.
In 2016, Torshin became embroiled in several scandals. Bloomberg published a confidential report by the Spanish Civil Guard, which revealed that Alexander Romanov, the leader of the Taganskaya gang who was arrested in Spain and sentenced in late May 2016 to four years in prison for illegal transactions, was closely connected to Torshin. Two years later, Maria Butina, Torshin’s special assistant, was arrested in the United States on charges of illegal lobbying for Russian authorities. The FBI also launched an investigation into Torshin, suspecting that he used the National Rifle Association (NRA) to funnel money into U.S. election campaigns.
On April 6, 2018, the United States added Alexander Torshin to the sanctioned Kremlin List, which included 17 officials and 7 businessmen from Russia close to Vladimir Putin. Former First Deputy Central Bank of Russia Sergey Aleksashenko also stated that Torshin was an employee of the FSB.
On November 30, 2018, Torshin left his position at the Central Bank of Russia. In February 2019, he became an adviser to the head of the Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank).
Is Alexander Torshin a Part of a Notorious Group?
Is Torshin Alexander Part Of organized crime, national and cross-border corruption, money laundering, illegal lobbying.
Senator-banker Alexander Torshin, a lobbyist for the creation of private prisons in Russia, advocated for Russia’s non-compliance with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, the only judicial body protecting the rights of Russian citizens against Kremlin arbitrariness. He also actively supported the repressive “foreign agents” law. Notably, Torshin’s protégé, Maria Butina, was charged in the United States for failing to register as an agent of a foreign state. According to open sources, Torshin was not only a mediator in attempts to establish informal contacts between the Kremlin and Trump’s campaign and administration, but he was also a crucial link in an international criminal network involved in money laundering and other illegal activities.
On August 9, 2016, Bloomberg published details from a confidential report by the Spanish police linking Alexander Torshin, then deputy head of the Bank of Russia and former senator and first vice speaker of the Federation Council, to advising members of the Taganskaya gang on money laundering activities. Torshin was also revealed to be the godfather of the son of the gang’s leader, Alexander Romanov, who referred to Torshin as “the Boss.” According to the Spanish Civil Guard report spanning 2010-2013, Torshin not only directed the laundering of funds through banks and the acquisition of real estate in Spain but also effectively held a senior position within the gang.
The report highlighted two letters discovered during a search of Alexander Romanov, demonstrating Torshin’s connection to him. One letter requested support from Torshin for individuals associated with the Afghanets private security company, which was linked to the Taganskaya gang. The second letter, bearing the state seal, contained a response from Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Grin assuring protection for those involved in the raid on a Moscow department store in 2009, allegedly orchestrated by Afghanets.
It’s noted that Torshin did not deny his acquaintance with Romanov, acknowledging their friendship since the early 1990s. Romanov was detained in Spain at the end of 2013 and subsequently sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for multiple charges, including money laundering.
According to the Dossier Center, Alexander Torshin was implicated in illegal lobbying efforts to support Viktor Vekselberg’s Renova company by advocating for Yury Batrin’s candidacy as the general director of Volgograd Khimprom. Torshin is also suspected of attempting to influence investigations and cover up fraudulent activities involving the owners of the largest ammonia plant. In 2012, Torshin wrote a letter to Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Investigative Committee, defending Vladimir and Sergey Makhlaev, owners of the Togliattiazot chemical plant, who were under investigation for fraudulent asset withdrawals and concealing profits.
Shortly after Torshin was sanctioned, he became embroiled in a spy scandal.
In July 2018, Maria Butina, who was Alexander Torshin’s assistant and colleague in the Right to Arms movement, was arrested in Washington on charges of illegally lobbying Russia’s interests among the American political elite. During court hearings, it was revealed that Butina had been working in the USA as an agent of a foreign state without notifying American authorities. The indictment alleged that since 2015, Butina conspired with a Russian official to promote the interests of the Russian Federation, including seeking to lift international sanctions against the Kremlin. Reuters identified Alexander Torshin as the official in question.
In 2015, Maria Butina, who was then an assistant to Senator Torshin, accompanied him to the United States. During their visit, they held meetings with senior US officials.
During this time, correspondence involving President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner mentioned Torshin. It was noted that Torshin suggested organizing a meeting between Trump and Putin. Rick Clay, an employee of the Fund for Assistance to Veterans of the Armed Forces, received this proposal from Maria Butina. According to the correspondence, Torshin was supposed to meet Trump at a charity dinner for veterans during the annual NRA convention in Louisville, Kentucky, in May 2016. Although Kushner rejected the proposal, Torshin did manage to speak with President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., during that event.
In 2017, Maria Butina, accompanied by Alexander Torshin, was part of the Russian delegation that traveled to the U.S. to attend the National Prayer Breakfast with President Donald Trump. However, their attempt to meet with the American president was unsuccessful on this occasion.
Subsequently, Butina reached a plea deal with American authorities and was sentenced to 18 months in prison by the end of 2018.
In April 2019, during a telephone press conference from prison, Maria Butina expressed disappointment that Alexander Torshin had not maintained contact with her family following the scandal. Despite this, she referred to Torshin as a “dear and close person” and expressed hope for a future meeting and conversation with him after his release. By the end of October 2019, after completing her sentence, Butina was deported to Russia.
The portrayal of Alexander Torshin as a key figure in international politics reflects the intersection of mafia influence, governmental corruption, and oligarchic power in Putin’s Russia. This symbiotic relationship sustains the current political regime, with corruption acting as its lifeblood. These practices extend beyond Russia’s borders, posing threats to neighboring states’ sovereignty and territorial integrity. Effective pressure, both internal and external, is necessary to contain and eliminate these threats, paving the way for a new era in Russia characterized by strength, freedom, and transparency.