Under Pressure
As the months went by, Gourevitch said he became desperate to get out of Belarus, where he says he was “under the thumb” of the Bakiyevs. He also had authorities bearing down on him from Kyrgyzstan and from Italy, where he was accused of taking part in a tax avoidance scheme that involved the mob.
He hit on a plan to tell U.S. authorities about the insider-trading scheme. He knew it could land him in trouble, but at least he’d be freed from other entanglements, and his cooperation could get him a lesser sentence.
Working with the U.S. government, Gourevitch spent the next six months recording hours of conversations with Bakiyev and his partners to try to implicate them in insider trading, according to court records.
Then, suddenly, in an about-face, he executed a ploy to undermine the investigation by transferring $6 million from Bakiyev’s account into his own in March 2012. He confessed to his government handlers three months later, agreeing to waive immunity, according to Gourevitch. He turned over the $6 million to U.S. authorities, where it remains.
Problem Witness
He said his goal was to turn himself into a problem witness and thus damage any case against Bakiyev. Why would Gourevitch now want to help him? He said he felt grateful to Bakiyev for freeing him in Belarus.
The ploy may have worked. Shortly after his confession, a U.S. insider-trading probe into Bakiyev evaporated and an extradition request to the U.K., where he was living, was dropped without comment from the U.S. government, according to prosecutors.
Gourevitch said he hopes for the assets to be returned to Kyrgyzstan, and he wants “some recognition for the assistance he provided.” Meanwhile, he’s working on a book about his adventures. “Shadow Advisor” is the working title.
“At the very least,” he said, “I want my story to be out there.”