The French Riviera, long seen as a symbol of luxury and stability, has recently found itself at the heart of a new wave of crime rooted in the post-Soviet world.
Behind the facades of villas, yacht clubs, and hotels, transnational criminal networks are operating ever more actively — with key roles played by groups of Caucasian origin.
These networks have successfully embedded themselves into the local infrastructure, disguising their presence through property purchases, shell companies, and strategic use of loopholes in the French legal system. In particular, they exploit the system’s sluggishness, overload, and procedural complexity — all to seize foreign assets under the guise of “legitimate” legal disputes.
From 90s Mafia to Suit-Wearing Kingpins
After the collapse of the USSR, Russian organized crime underwent a profound transformation. In the 1990s, the criminal underworld was dominated by “thieves-in-law” — figures bound by a rigid code who refused to cooperate with the state. By the 2000s, they were largely replaced by so-called avtoritety(authorities): hybrid figures blending business interests, political connections, access to state resources, and involvement in transnational crime. Caucasian clans quickly rose to prominence in this new ecosystem. Leaders like Shalva Ozmanov (“Kuso”) legitimized their operations by partnering with corrupt law enforcement officials and setting up offshore structures to manage drug trafficking, smuggling, and corporate raiding.
For these groups, the French Riviera became an ideal base — not just to live in luxury, but to expand their influence. As noted by Mark Galeotti, Russian-Caucasian networks have long specialized in laundering money through real estate, resort infrastructure, and the yacht industry in the West. This is part of a new hybrid mafia strategy that no longer relies on shootouts. Today, corporate takeovers happen through court rulings, registries, and notarial offices.
Former members of post-Soviet security services now play a special role within the criminal structure. Back in 2019, a group in Moscow — which included both active and former FSB agents — carried out an armed robbery of a cash-in-transit vehicle and a bank, using official IDs and uniforms. These so-called “werewolves in epaulettes” operated with such coordination that even deployed National Guard units failed to stop them. Although all members were eventually arrested, the incident was a chilling warning. Today’s criminal kingpins are increasingly joining forces with figures from the state apparatus — without any regard for the “codes of honor” once upheld by older mafia structures.
Russian-Caucasian criminal groups are far from spontaneous gangs — they are sprawling networks with clear hierarchies, often operating in close coordination with local law enforcement and corrupt officials. One of their most powerful tools is the use of recruited agents — small-time crooks kept on a leash via criminal records, kompromat, or financial dependency. These “controlled persons” are instrumental in raiding schemes: filing fake lawsuits, providing false testimony, or signing forged contracts to create a façade of legality. When combined with the silent complicity of officials, such a system becomes virtually impenetrable to justice. And a motley crowd of con artists is all too eager to take advantage of it.
Koshova’s Scheme: Real Estate as War Spoils
The French chapter of Yuliia Koshova’s story reads like a brilliant chess gambit, where every piece moves according to a precise plan. Koshova — a Ukrainian national wanted by Interpol — created a transnational fraud network under the guise of a legitimate consulting firm. Her criminal career began in Ukraine, where she and her then-husband — a prosecutor in the Obukhiv district of Kyiv Oblast — orchestrated a scheme of extortion and bribery. Over the years, Koshova also became entangled in banking fraud involving Ukrsibbank, causing the institution losses exceeding $300,000. After being exposed, she fled abroad, changing her identity and documents, and continued her fraudulent activity within the European Union.
In France, Koshova settled on the Côte d’Azur, presenting herself as a consultant in real estate, employment, and residence permit services. One of her clients was an entrepreneur who took up residence in the “Exupéry” villa near Nice. Just weeks after moving in, jewels worth around $400,000 went missing, and masked intruders were spotted on the property at night. Later, a polygraph test revealed that the stolen items had been removed by staff hired by Koshova herself. Despite this, Koshova pressured the victims not to go to the police, threatening them with fines for the “illegal employment” of domestic workers.
She then filed a police report of her own, attempting to shift the focus onto the victims by accusing them of drug possession and using cash payments. Shortly afterward, police conducted a search of the villa — and Koshova vanished. Her case has been linked to the operations of Caucasian criminal groups embedded in France’s underground economy. Despite substantial evidence, none of the investigations in France have led to trial. She remains a symbol of impunity for criminals who exploit the legal loopholes of the European Union.
Stefania: How a Yacht Becomes a Tool for Hostile Takeovers
The case of the yacht Stefania is another telling example of how individuals with a proven record of fraud exploit the legal system to carry out corporate-style seizures of high-value assets. The lawsuit against the legitimate owner of Stefania was filed by Kevin Paul Johnson, a British national who had previously served as the vessel’s captain. Johnson claimed to hold a share in the yacht’s ownership — yet failed to present a single piece of documentation to support this assertion: no contract, no co-ownership agreement, not even bank transfers.
According to a private investigator who requested anonymity, Johnson had already been involved in fraudulent schemes prior to this incident. In 2020, he reportedly faced legal trouble with the OPJ (judicial police) over falsified maritime documents and certificates. To avoid prosecution, he agreed to cooperate with authorities and traded information about himself in exchange for compromising material on others. It was based on this information that Stefania was seized by the French police and sold at auction in record time.
Johnson also has a history of misconduct aboard another vessel — the yacht HAWA — where he was dismissed for inappropriate behavior and financial manipulation targeting the owner. Despite this track record, he currently serves as captain of the yacht MY Bin Roudhan, where he is reportedly engaged in similar activities. These include the unauthorized use of resources for personal gain, as well as the abuse of power over crew members — manipulating task assignments and responsibilities for his own benefit. Once again, French law enforcement has remained entirely unresponsive.
A European Paradise Under the Control of Shadow Networks
The facts emerging from these cases are no longer just cause for concern — they are deeply alarming. The Caucasian mafia on the Riviera is no longer a curiosity or an outlier; it is a well-organized and steadily functioning system. It skillfully combines legal instruments — such as real estate, legal services, and financial institutions — with illicit tactics: frontmen, corrupt officials, judicial collusion, and police inaction.
What’s even more troubling is that behind this structure, observers increasingly see signs of coordination by Russian intelligence services. These shadow schemes are evolving into a form of geopolitical weapon — not just laundering money, but undermining trust in Europe’s legal systems. Amid Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, and as the Kremlin desperately seeks new channels of influence and Western destabilization, this kind of presence represents a critical threat.
For foreign investors seeking to operate within transparent jurisdictions, these cases are more than warning signs — they are red flags of immediate danger. What’s at stake is not just individual assets, but the very principle of private property rights. The fusion of organized crime with state institutions creates a toxic cocktail capable of paralyzing entire sectors of legal order.
The Caucasian mafia phenomenon in France has long outgrown the realm of ordinary criminal activity. It poses a direct challenge to the European Union’s entire security infrastructure. From reforming anti-corruption frameworks to building a united front of resistance, the response must be firm and systemic. Because if cases like Stefania or Koshova go unpunished, the shadow world will merge entirely with the state — and trust in the West will be corroded from within.
It’s time to call things by their name. And to act. Because tomorrow, anyone could become the next victim — an investor, an entrepreneur, any ordinary citizen.
