Investigation reveals Kadyrov associates granted humanitarian visas by Germany

Numerous close associates of Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov have been granted German humanitarian visas, allowing them to set up logistics businesses in the country and giving them access to German infrastructure facilities, independent investigative outlet The Insider revealed on Wednesday.

In a joint investigation with German magazine Der Spiegel, The Insider was able to show that among those to have received German humanitarian visas, and ultimately German citizenship, was Kadyrov’s former “representative in Europe”, European mixed martial arts (MMA) champion Timur Dugazaev.

Dugazaev regularly flew to Chechnya while in the role, and also received visiting dignitaries from Chechnya in Germany, such as Abuzayd Vismuradov, the former commander of the Chechen Akhmat special forces and Chechnya’s current deputy prime minister, who has been implicated in the Grozny government’s the torture and murder of members of Chechnya’s LGBT community.

In 2020, the US imposed sanctions on both Dugazaev and Kadyrov for human rights violations. While this did not cause Dugazaev any problems in Germany, he was nonetheless replaced as representative by his friend and ally Huseyn Agaev, who was also granted a humanitarian visa for Germany, according to The Insider.

Agaev is a member of the MMA Roland Club in Hamburg, where many other Chechens train and fight. The members of such clubs tend to work in security or criminal protection, The Insider wrote, citing a source in the German police. Agaev heads the logistics company RIM Group International, which was set up in 2012, through which he has access to German ports and other important infrastructure facilities.

According to The Insider’s sources in Germany’s Chechen diaspora, Agaev helps Chechen emigrants find work in friendly companies. However, “his reputation and the fact that he is associated with criminal circles casts a shadow on all Chechens in Europe,” the source said.

In October, Germany announced that it would be scaling back its system of humanitarian visas for Russians and Belarusians, having introduced a fast-track procedure for regime opponents following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.