Empire of the Ring

Chapter 757: Siphoning Off (2)

Two 3,000-ton frigates, led by Lieutenant Colonel Pyotr, were moving rapidly into the Baltic Sea after getting out of the Port of Copenhagen.

It was to track down the super-sized yacht that the Aliyev family was said to be on board.

Lieutenant Colonel Pyotr, looking at the Baltic Sea from the bridge, frowned as he was deep in thought.

The operation should be carried out without causing any casualty, but the yacht was armed as well.

However, as Aliyev’s security guards had personal firearms and even portable rocket launchers, it would be difficult to get close to them.

Another variable was a small helicopter on a yacht, which was troublesome because the former president and his family could try to escape with it.

The frigates also had Lynx helicopters that could track it down, but they could not shoot it down.

It was worrisome because he was strictly ordered not to sink the yacht in any case. He only hoped that the helicopter would not be able to fly due to heavy waves.

Although five special agents accompanied him this time, it was questionable whether they would be able to take over the yacht by themselves.

The mega yacht was a luxury ship equipped with a small helicopter that was often owned by Arab princes or world-class rich people, and it was funny that Aliyev had such a yacht.

It was easy to spot the mega yacht in the Baltic Sea as few people floated yachts in the winter season.

As it was being tracked since its departure from Estonia by the intelligence agents of Kazakhstan, it was quickly spotted by the frigates’ radar.

Lieutenant Colonel Pyotr, who had no intention of operating in the narrow Baltic Sea, began tracking the yacht down from a distance until it entered the Atlantic Ocean.

He planned to raid it after it was being exhausted by the high waves of the Atlantic Ocean.

The yacht moved slowly for hours out of the Baltic Sea.

High waves awaited them as they entered the Atlantic Ocean.

When it entered the Atlantic Ocean, high waves greeted it.

The Atlantic’s winter waves were overwhelming for any yacht no matter how big it was unlike the Kazakh warships.

Anyway, the slow yacht was sailing along the western coast of Europe, beset by waves for hours.

At this rate, most people in the yacht would have been exhausted by motion sickness.

It would take at least three or four hours for a person once troubled by the waves to return to normal, but the waves were getting even higher, so everyone on board the yacht would be exhausted except for a few.

The waves, which had been raging, began to subside as the ships entered French territorial waters.

“They must be exhausted by now. Get the Lynx helicopter ready for dispatch.”

“Aye, aye. Sir!”

Lieutenant Colonel Pyotr who smiled in satisfaction ordered the launch of a Lynx helicopter and to sail as far as the yacht could be seen with the naked eye.

The Lynx helicopter circled around for about a dozen minutes above Aliyev’s yacht and demanded a stop while the frigates slowly went close to the yacht.

The people on the yacht, who had been lying around due to the exhaustion from the seasickness caused by the high waves, were frightened to see a helicopter followed by warships out of nowhere.

Tired to the extreme, they did not know what to do with their judgment lost.

In the meantime, the special agents, who quickly came down from the helicopter on a rope, quickly began to take control of the deck and the bridge.

Soon, a boat from a frigate neared the yacht that was overpowered without time to respond, and fully armed soldiers climbed onto the deck.

All was done in less than 10 minutes.

The panicked security guards on board were not able to respond and were just grimacing.

Even if they responded, it was obvious that they would be buried with a single attack from the warships.

***

“The Aliyev family was on a yacht, as expected?”

Youngho, who confirmed it again from Suh Min-seok, had a subtle smile around his mouth.

It was because he had finally found Aliyev who had hidden enormous slush funds.

“Yes, that’s true, Your Highness. And the news you’ve been waiting for was delivered too. The gold bars on the yacht are as much as 40 tons.”

“That much on a single yacht? How big is the yacht?”

“It’s 70 meters long, so it’s close to 1,000 tons.”

If a president of a country, who was neither a businessman nor an Arab prince, had such a luxurious yacht, how much would he have siphoned off from the country?

It would have been more expensive to buy it in secret.

Gold of 40 tons would cost nearly 2.1 billion dollars in market value.

It was also the amount that European banks would have to pay more to secure if they wanted to purchase it for a political business.

Aside from the gold on board, Aliyev had more slush funds hidden somewhere.

Deposits and real estate in the names of his wife and two daughters alone were known to cost more than 10 billion dollars.

The arrest of Aliyev was kept secret.

There was no reason to re-introduce him to the public when his name was already erased from the minds of the people.

Some of the followers of Aliyev still remained, and it would be better for the royal family to efficiently manage the slush funds than to return them to Azerbaijan.

If Aliyev’s slush funds were recovered, it would not only cover the war expenses the royal family spent in the battles with China but also secure funds to bring in more advanced weapons, including the latest fighter jets, which made Youngho excited.

Youngho, who was tapping the calculator in his head, had a headache when he thought about the handling of the Aliyev family.

They could never be exposed to the public or they would have to be put in court and open all the slush funds.

It would be better to let them stay in Kazakhstan until all funds were retrieved, and then deport them out of the country.

Youngho called Admiral Viktor Jun of the Kazakh Royal Navy and ordered the frigates to escort the yacht only to the Black Sea. This was because the combination of a luxurious yacht and warships sailing together was bound to be noticeable.

Most of the ships passing through the Volga-Don Canal in the Black Sea were cargo ships and ferries, so the emergence of luxury yachts was a hot topic.

The arrival of the frigates into the Caspian Sea could also provoke the Russian Navy.

The yacht’s escort would be taken over by the Kazakh Coast Guard, which was waiting in the Azov Sea.

Originally, the coast guard could not operate in the Black Sea unless it belonged to one of the coastal countries, but it was recognized as an exception.

The Volga-Don Canal connected the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, so Kazakhstan was given the same status as the Black Sea coastal countries.

Partly it was because Turkey and Russia, which were the two main powers that divided the Black Sea, considered Kazakhstan as their ally, and on the other hand, it was because they expected the presence of the Kazakh Royal Navy to serve as a neutral power and buffer between the two.

“Admiral Jun. The frigates don’t have to come all the way to the Caspian Sea. Escort the yacht to the Black Sea and hand it over to the Coast Guard.”

-Then I’ll escort it to the entrance of the Don River. It will probably arrive in 3 days.

“We’ll have to make sure all navies who were in this operation keep their mouths shut.”

More than 400 sailors were on board the two frigates, and if they talked about Aliyev, the entire Baku would get boisterous.

-I’ll train them thoroughly. If I say it’s about the royal family, the soldiers will watch their mouths.

The Navy had extraordinary loyalty to the royal family.

This was because it was the only one of the three armed forces of Kazakhstan to use the title “The Royal Navy.”

The title of the Royal Navy was naturally given, as the royal family invested so much in the naval armament and bought Aegis destroyers, warships, and landing ships.

People even treated the Navy as the Royal Bodyguards.

Since it had such pride, it would follow suit regardless of the reason if the royal family ordered it to be silent.

“See you in a few days at the royal territory.”

-Do you want to withdraw from Baku?

Baku was also quite stable now, so Youngho was planning to return to the Arirang royal territory. There was a lot of work to be done on the mainland.

***

Returning to his post, Youngho made all-out efforts to collect slush funds from the Aliyev family.

The yacht also carried various precious valuables and expensive paintings, which amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars at market prices.

The Aliyev family had distributed deposits of dollars and euros in several places, including the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Bahamas, which were tax havens.

Money deposited in these areas alone amounted to as much as 17 billion dollars.

In addition, real estate bought in foreign countries was enormous.

Luckily, it was easy to track them down because the Aliyev family’s deposit and real estate list was found on the yacht.

In particular, the largest amount of money was deposited in the British Virgin Islands, which was also their final destination.

Virgin Islands was the generic term for about 80 small islands at the eastern end of the West Indies, divided into British and American territories.

British territories were 36 islands located inside the Caribbean Islands east of Puerto Rico, which were militarily valuable because they were close to the Anegada passage, the shortest course linking the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Panama Canal.

The British Virgin Islands was a classic tax haven as a self-governing province that received little interference from its home country, Britain, with low taxes and little regulation.

Virgin Island was loved as a hideout for illegal funds, with about 120,000 paper companies.

The Aliyev family also owned a large-scale real estate there, which was an island.

Park Jong-il was proud to show Aliyev’s property list.

“How about that? Our intelligence service has done it again!”

“I paid a bonus to all troops and agents who were in the operation. The operation was carried out without a single injury, so I directly called Captain Pyotr to thank him.”

“Sweet. So what the hell do you think he was going to do with all this money? Did he plan to build a new country or something?”

“His aides had gathered more than he did. It’s not that surprising.”

“I hope Virgin Islands’ real estate and the yacht will not be disposed of. Instead, can the royal family keep them?”

“What are you going to use them for?”

“That yacht is a masterpiece and it will be a shame if we sell it. If we add more weapons, it’ll be stronger than a decent warship. And I think we can use the island as a royal resort.”

Like the islands in the Mediterranean, it would not be bad if there was a royal foothold in the Caribbean as well.

The royal family had yet to establish a suitable base in the Atlantic.

It was British territory, so it could not be used as a military base, but it was a place that could be used for any other purposes, so Youngho was intrigued by Jong-il’s idea.