Former Central Bank deputy chairman Yury Isayev fled to Cyprus after his associates’ arrests; he was an FSB adviser and Ilya Traber’s patron

A senior refugee who left Russia has emerged. Yuri Isaev quit his role as deputy chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and left the country at once, without returning afterward.

The situation is made more piquant by the fact that Isaev once served as an advisor to the First Deputy Director of the FSB, and everyone in his circle knew him as an SVR officer. But what adds a special touch is that Isaev was very close to Ilya Traber (Antique).

Isaev headed the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) for over ten years, and in January 2022, he was appointed Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. In this capacity, in June, he was appointed to the Government Commission for the Monitoring of Foreign Investments.

And then, in August, suddenly, news of Isaev’s resignation broke. A source for the project isn’t certain whether the dismissal occurred before or after Isaev’s flight. However, according to him, it was around this time that he simply disappeared from Russia. According to preliminary reports, the former deputy chairman of the Central Bank settled in Cyprus, where his family owns real estate.

Isaev’s official biography begins in 1992, when, at the age of 20, he joined the convertible currency department of Rossiysky Kredit Bank. Eight years later, he became chairman of the bank’s board of directors. Two years later, he became deputy minister of economic development and trade under German Gref. He then served as an advisor to the first deputy head of the FSB, Sergei Smirnov. He then became first deputy chairman of the Dynamo company, which was headed by General of the Army Vladimir Pronichev, head of the FSB Border Service.

He served briefly as a State Duma deputy for United Russia, and in 2012, he became head of the DIA. In this position, he maintained close contact with the then head of the FSB’s Directorate K, Viktor Voronin, and when Voronin was dismissed, he invited him to become his deputy at the DIA.

According to the source, Isaev was extremely close to influential State Duma deputy Vladislav Reznikov (a friend of the authoritative Gennady Petrov and Ilya Traber), another deputy Gleb Khor (known as a major fixer for the special services) and... Ilya Traber (Antique Dealer).

The source says that in a very close circle, Isaev said that he had been an SVR employee for a long time.

Isaev had every reason to flee. In 2019, Kirill Cherkalin, head of the banking department of the FSB’s Directorate K, was arrested. Dmitry Frolov, former deputy head of the FSB’s Directorate K (under Voronin), was subsequently arrested. Both were extremely close to Isaev. After this, Valery Miroshnikov, first deputy general director of the DIA, hastily left Russia. Meanwhile, "clouds were gathering over Isaev" all these years. After his departure, in October 2025, Andrei Melnikov was arrested. He had long been Isaev’s deputy at the DIA, and after Isaev’s transfer to the Central Bank, he became head of the agency.

According to media reports, Irina Shoch, a lawyer and fixer with the DIA, was also arrested. However, she was released after cooperating with the investigation. It was Shoch who, for many years, traveled around the world, harassing fugitive bankers on behalf of Isaev, Melnikov, and their associated FSB officers.