Gherman Gorbuntsov was a notorious money launderer whose clients included some of Russia’s wealthiest institutions and business leaders. Known as the “black banker,” he also made many enemies as he carried out his nefarious financing schemes. After falling out with his partner, he moved to Moldova, where he continued his criminal activities, before finally seeking asylum in London.
Little does he know that the wrath of his fellow bankers and abandoned clients will soon find itself in the form of hired killers. In 2012, a bloody and ultimately unsuccessful attempt was made on him. An in-depth investigation involving the highest levels of business and government followed. Killers Inc. is chronicling the investigation, led by journalists from the Organized Crime and Corruption Project.
What these intrepid detectives discovered over the course of their two-year investigation was a complex criminal web that led to the highest levels of power and influence in Russia. It was a covert criminal operation led by arms dealer Ion Druta, who was also suspected of running a transatlantic network of assassins. The sinister characters he recruits and uses threatens, blackmails and even murders to protect the interests of politicians, business leaders and government officials. News footage and interviews with law enforcement officials stand in stark contrast to Deruta’s plea of innocence as they illustrate the trail of terror his organization left behind.
Surprisingly, the film features fascinating on-camera interviews with Druta, who vehemently denies any involvement with any criminal enterprise despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary and his current status as a wanted man. Gorbenzov also sat down with the filmmakers to describe what he believed to have happened in the months leading up to his assassination. It was an intricate conspiracy involving the head of Russian Railways, Russia’s largest state-owned company. Speculation that the cold-blooded killer may have made deals with fringe Kremlin leaders is just one of many provocative revelations contained in the documentary.
Fast and gripping, Killers Inc. unfolds like a major Hollywood conspiracy thriller.
