Semion Mogilevich

The Ukrainian-born Mogilevich, thought to be more powerful than John Gotti or Whitey Bulger ever were, is currently on the FBI’s "10 Most Wanted" list. He was indicted by the U.S. Justice Department in 2003 on 45 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, money-laundering, and racketeering related to a multinational, publicly traded front company called YBM Magnex, Inc, which at its height was valued at $150 million. It claimed to manufacture magnets — except that it didn’t. Instead, YBM Magnex drove its share prices up on the Toronto Stock Exchange by convincing shareholders that the money Mogilevech and his conspirators were moving around banks globally was for the purchases of raw materials. But the end product never existed. The Mogilevich Organization, as the FBI refers to his criminal empire, keeps an especially diverse portfolio: In addition to murder, prostitution, money-laundering, and precious gems dealing, it also traffics in both weapons and nuclear materials. Based in Budapest, the syndicate has branches in Prague, Vienna, Moscow, Israel, France, and Slovakia. In fact, Mogilevich was himself briefly arrested in Moscow in 2008 on tax fraud charges, but was soon released on bail. Ignoring numerous U.S. extradition requests, the Kremlin now allows Mogilevich to reside comfortably on Russian soil.