Sergei Belyakov

Sergei Belyakov is a Russian official with documented ties to Russian intelligence and multiple operational interactions with Jeffrey Epstein. He is a graduate of the FSB Academy, the institution that prepares Russian Federal Security Service officers, where he enrolled in 1993 following conscript service and graduated in 1998, subsequently serving in FSB border guards before transitioning to a career in economic policy. Belyakov rose to become Deputy Minister of Economic Development under the Putin government. After being removed from that post in 2014, he was appointed chairman of the board of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) Foundation, which organizes Putin's flagship annual economic conference.

The DOJ-released documents, analyzed extensively by the Dossier Center, show Belyakov had substantive and operational correspondence with Epstein. In July 2015, Epstein contacted Belyakov about what he described as a blackmail attempt by a Russian woman targeting a group of "powerful" American businessmen at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York. Belyakov responded that he would "get information about her" and subsequently sent Epstein a detailed profile of the woman, including her background and what Belyakov described as her "sex and escort" business. This exchange represents a Russian intelligence-trained official providing opposition research or surveillance-style information to a convicted sex offender. Belyakov also sought Epstein's assistance in arranging meetings with prominent Western figures including PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold as prospective attendees at SPIEF forums. Epstein introduced Barak to Belyakov, and Barak subsequently appeared at SPIEF 2015.

Belyakov also proposed arranging meetings between Epstein and Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak and Central Bank Deputy Chairman Alexei Simanovsky. These exchanges illustrate Epstein functioning as a conduit facilitating access between senior Russian officials and prominent Western figures.