Konanykhin studied at the Department of Space Research at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology to pursue a career in engineering.
[7] In 1991, Konanykhin was the founder, co-owner, and President of the Russian Exchange Bank,[8][9][10] which became the first institution to receive a currency-trading license from the Yeltsin government.
[15][16] Konanykhin claims he fled to New York where he delivered protest letters to senior Moscow officials and members of the press warning of the looming "mafiocracy".
The prosecutor, Alexander Volvodez, now charged Konanykhin with illegally wiring $8.1 million from the Russian Exchange Bank to overseas accounts, and many other crimes, and demanded his extradition to Russia.
The trial touched upon issues as to whether the secret police had taken over the Russian banking industry, and also if the United States government had been fooled into going after Konanykhin.
[14][a] In court Konanykhin testified he was being targeted by Volvodez and the Russian government because of his anti-corruption campaign, and his lawyers argued that he had transferred money to private accounts to prevent it from being stolen.
[20][21] Appearing as witnesses at the trial were FBI agents who testified that the Russian mafia had previously taken out a contract on Konanykhin's life.
[22] Judge Ellis stated that he found the testimonies of Yuri Shvets and Antoinette Rizzi in Konanykhin's immigration case "credible and somewhat disturbing".
[6] ordered the INS to pay $100,000 of Konanykhin's legal fees to pro bono counsel at Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn.
[23] The settlement also ordered Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Spencer to confirm within 30 days that there would be an internal probe by the Department of Justice into the conduct of INS lawyers at the hearing.
[3] Temporarily freed from his trials with the Russian and American governments, Konanykhin and Gratcheva went on to develop a $100 million Internet startup in New York called KMGi, among other businesses.
[28] The ruling came less than a month (October 25, 2003) after the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Konanykhin's former banking rival in Russia and business partner during his exile.
[40] In 2011 Konanykhin's firm KMGi founded TransparentBusiness,[41] which allows employers or clients to monitor the activity of those working for them on computers.
The television panel also includes Steve Wozniak, Lance Bass, Rosa Gumataotao Rios, Moises Vela, Scott Livingston, and Silvina Moschini.
According to fellow founder Steve Wozniak, the coin is tied to the financial results of the companies that the Unicorn Hunters and the show’s viewers have invested in, making it an asset backed cryptocurrency.
[53][54] On March 1, 2022, shortly after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Konanykhin announced on social media that he was offering a $1 million bounty for the arrest of Vladimir Putin with the text "Wanted: Dead or Alive.
[62] On February 27, 2022, Konanykhin promised in a Facebook post to pay a $1,000,000 bounty for the arrest of Vladimir Putin for war crimes.