It is a leak that could have consequences: in a recorded phone call, two Russian entrepreneurs are said to be blaspheming about Putin. Apparently, one calls the Kremlin boss a “sucker.”
If it turns out to be real, things could get tricky for those involved: The Russian-language US broadcaster “Current Time TV” and the US state-run foreign broadcaster “Radio Liberty” have published a recorded phone call between two Russian entrepreneurs, in which the two apparently gossip about the Russian leadership.
As “Current Time TV” reports on its website, it is said to be a conversation between billionaire Roman Trotsenko and Moscow businessman Nikolai Matuzhevski. It took place in January 2023.
Trotsenko is considered one of the richest men in Russia and once advised the head of the Russian oil giant Rosneft, the Putin confidante Igor Sechin.
Billionaire calls Putin ‘chump’
In the approximately 40-minute phone call, the two allegedly spoke against Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, among other things. The men address each other as “Roma” and “Kolya,” which indicates how familiar they are, according to Current Time TV.
Kolya tells how he watched videos of Russian presidents and their New Year’s greetings, including “from the last president” (Putin), who, like an “idiot”, is not standing in front of a Christmas tree as usual, but with the military in the background.
“How can a country live and develop when the only ideology is to make money and keep a group of people in power?” asks his counterpart, according to the report.
In the audio recording, Roma apparently says: “Unfortunately, Russia, which we love so sincerely, has fallen into the clutches of some scumbags… This can’t end well, it’s going to end in hell… People will be crowding the streets of kill each other in Moscow.”
Entrepreneurs speak of “fake” and “stupid joke”
Confronted with the recording, both Trotsenko and Matuschewski denied that the conversation took place. Matuschewski called the recording a “stupid joke” or “fake” that could have been made with the help of artificial intelligence.
So far, the authenticity of the audio recording has not been officially confirmed. According to “Current Time TV”/”Radio Liberty”, however, both the information in the call and the telephone number that can be assigned to Trotsenko speak for the authenticity of the conversation.
