#Ananyev Promsvyazbank

[globalbankinghouse-blog]

Promsvyazbank By Ananyev Brothers Left Boris Mintz Without 13.3 Billion Rubles

Our article today will focus on a “feigned deal” that involved placement of the managing company NPF "Future" of Boris Mints deposits for 13.3 billion rubles in Promsvyazbank in order to ensure the receipt of money from the sale of 10% of Promsvyazbank itself the day before it was reorganized- this was a point raised by a representative of the PSB during the hearings on the lawsuit on controversial deposits in 2018.

This is how the scheme looked according to the lawyers of the PSB: On December 11, 2017 the Central Bank issued to Dmitri Ananyev (at the time the head of the PSB and his co-owner) an order to complete the reserves for 100 billion rubles, and "it was clear that this amount would not be covered." The members of the bank's board of directors, including Dmitry Mints (the son of Boris Mints, the main shareholder of the "Future" group), were to receive information about the order right away. According to the lawyer of the PSB, the Future Fund, on December 14, from 18:13 to 18:49, almost sold its stake in Mossbirge to Promsvyaz Capital B.V. (at that time the main shareholder of Promsvyazbank), while Promsvyaz Capital B.V. paid for the shares at the expense of the bank. Just after half an hour, deposits began to be made to the accounts of the management company of this NPF - Concord Asset Management- in the bank. Two business days later, on December 18, the transaction was paid in accordance with the rules of the Mossbirge.

In January (2018), the bank’s capital was written off to 1 ruble, so if the APF did not sell the shares, it would have lost its investment. Furthermore, the share in the PSB, owned by NPF "Future", "would have fallen from 8 billion rubles up to 8 kopecks.” Knowing about the future sanation, NPF sold shares and put 13.3 billion rubles, pension savings of their customers to the account in that bank realizing that the Central Bank would save the bank and the funds on deposits could be returned.

Unrelated Transactions:

During the court session, “Concord Asset Management” recalled that since December 7, 2017, they signed with Ananyev Promsvyazbank several agreements on the placement of deposits for a total of 13.3 billion rubles. But on December 15, the bank’s credit rating changed in connection with the decision of the Central Bank to sanitize Promsvyazbank, and after that, the company decided to return the deposits, but the bank ignored that claim, which it tried to challenge in the court of Concord.

The management company emphasized that the placement of deposits and payment for shares were not related. Talking about the sale of shares and the placement of a deposit, the company pointed out that the rehabilitation of a number of banks was accompanied by a write-off of capital and a complete depreciation of investments in shares, while obligations on deposits remained. Therefore, FG "Future", the mother company of NPF "Future" acted on the basis of the logic of managers in that situation.

The Central Bank, which was brought to the dispute as a third person, believed that the placement of deposits in the PSB was not dictated by financial and economic feasibility.

Although, FG “Future” press service stated that Dmitry Mints was not a member of the board of directors of Promsvyazbank since September 2017 and "could not have relevant information", Dmitry Mints appeared as a member of the board of directors on the list of affiliated entities of Promsvyazbank on December 31, which was explained by outdated data in the list in the press service of FG “Future”.

FG "Future" showed a loss of 16.4 billion rubles following the results of 2017. According to the results of the first quarter of 2018, the assets of APF "Future", the largest of the funds of Boris Mints, were 308.9 billion rubles, 4.5 million people were its customers. 75% FG "Future" was then mortgaged on a loan from the Moscow Credit Bank (MKB) for 25 billion rubles. Roman Avdeev, the owner of the IBC, transferred the debt to its structure, the Rossium concern, and she raised the Cyprus Riverstretch Trading & Investments (RT & I) to "structure the deal." It was a question of whether the debt was about to or already had been assigned to the Cyprus company. Although the company was associated with GC Region, but the group outright denied connection with the offshore company.

Follow The Washington Times article “Global banking’s house of cards” for detailed information.

[thesecrettimes]

Sanctioned Russian Financial institution Exams In-app Operations With Digital Rubles

A Russian bank, one of the country’s largest by assets, has conducted a successful trial with digital ruble transactions processed through its mobile app. The state-owned Promsvyazbank was one the institutions placed under Western sanctions earlier this year in connection with Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.

Russian Bank Experiments With Digital Ruble Transfers via Mobile Application

Promsvyazbank (PSB) is one of the first Russian lenders to join the trials of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the Bank of Russia. According to a report by the business news outlet Plus Journal, the bank has recently tested digital ruble transactions through its app for mobile devices. To carry out the operations, participants had to pass a registration in the application and set up a digital wallet. Then, using their account, they were able to exchange regular electronic bank money for digital rubles and transfer digital cash to other clients of the bank as well as those of other banks taking part in the pilot project. All the information about the performed transactions was provided by the digital ruble platform operated by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), and was immediately reflected on the balances of the users’ digital wallets in the smartphone app, the report details. The platform’s prototype was launched by the monetary authority late last year. “PSB is one of the first banks to implement a simple and understandable technology for making transactions with digital rubles in a mobile application and successfully test it. We see great potential in this instrument, which we expect will become a new settlement standard in the Russian economy,” stated Senior Vice President Alexander Chernoshchekin, who heads the bank’s digital business unit. The top executive added that the successful testing lays down the foundation for future operations with the digital ruble and opens up new opportunities for the Russian public and companies. Reliable and secure transfers in digital currency will be available to the population while the state will have additional tools to administer budget payments and targeted social payments, he elaborated. The new settlement technology will help businesses solve the issue of automating all payments and internal business processes, Chernoshchekin added. Bank of Russia is responsible for the storage and accounting in the digital ruble ecosystem and CBR officials claim all payments are subject to encryption and other measures to prevent fraud. No less than a dozen credit institutions have decided to join the testing of the digital ruble, once their systems are ready to connect to the CBDC platform, as part of the trials that started in early 2022. This past summer, Russia accelerated the schedule for the project, aiming for a full launch of its digital currency in 2024. Promsvyazbank is among the top 10 banks in Russia by assets and deposits. Once a private bank owned by Russian oligarchs, the brothers Dmitry and Alexei Ananyev, it was nationalized by the Russian government in 2018 and has since been recognized as a bank supporting Russia’s defense industry. It has been targeted with sanctions imposed over Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. Do you think Russia may introduce the digital ruble earlier than planned? Share your expectations in the comments section below. Read the full article

[everyminutebreakingnews]

Promsvyazbank's Ananyev has left Russia, he tells...

Promsvyazbank's Ananyev has left Russia, he tells... Promsvyazbank's Ananyev has left Russia, he tells... MOSCOW, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Dmitry Ananyev, head and co-owner of Promsvyazbank (PSB) which was taken over by the central bank in mid-December, has left... from Articles | Mail Online December 25, 2017 at 02:11PM from http://everyminutebreakingnews.blogspot.com/2017/12/promsvyazbanks-ananyev-has-left-russia.html

[everettwilkinson]

Russia moves to save Promsvyazbank in third bailout this year

December 15, 2017

By Tatiana Voronova and Jack Stubbs

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has stepped in to rescue Promsvyazbank, the country’s 10th largest private lender, its central bank said on Friday, the third in a series of costly financial bailouts this year.

Promsvyazbank (PSB) is the latest banking casualty since late August, when the central bank rescued Otkritie, once the country’s largest private bank, and later B&N.

The bailouts mark the biggest challenge to Russia’s financial sector since a banking crisis roughly 20 years ago and show how the country and its banks are grappling with the economic impact of the fall in oil prices and Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

One senior lawmaker said there would be no further such rescues this year.

There are slightly more than 500 banks in Russia, half the number it had some years ago, as the central bank continues a clean up. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday there was no target for the number of banks in Russia.

The central bank said it was providing funds to support Promsvyazbank’s liquidity and would send in temporary administrators.

It said there would be no moratorium on Promsvyazbank paying creditors and that the bank was operating as normal.

“As part of measures aimed at increasing (Promsvyazbank’s) financial stability and ensuring its continued work in the banking services market, it is planned that the Bank of Russia act as an investor using the funds of the Banking Sector Consolidation Fund,” the regulator said.

The latest rescue was announced on Friday, following late-night talks, when the central bank presented the troubled bank with an ultimatum: find 100 billion rubles ($1.7 billion) of extra capital or be bailed out.

People with direct knowledge of the matter said Promsvyazbank’s co-owner and chairman, Dmitry Ananyev, and central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina, agreed on a rescue at a late-night meeting.

Dmitry Ananyev and his brother, Alexei, who together control just over 50 percent of the bank, said on Friday the bank’s its serious difficulties had prompted them to ask for state support.

“Over a prolonged period of time the regulator was examining our assets, which resulted in a request for additional provisions and, as a result, the temporary administration was introduced,” their statement said.

Lawmaker Anatoly Aksakov, a member of the Duma finance committee and head of the Russian Banking Association, said the bailout would not affect the wider sector and was the last such step to be taken this year.

CLEAN SLATE

The latest rescue marks a reversal of fortune for three private banks with ties to the Kremlin and which had helped out dollar-starved Russian companies when big state banks were hampered by Western sanctions.

Otkritie, Promsvyazbank and B&N Bank, had won business lending to state energy firms and others needing to meet big overseas debt repayments as the Ukraine conflict closed financial markets to state lenders such as Sberbank <SBER.MM>.

The central bank said Otkritie and B&N were too financially weak to continue. Promsvyazbank said on Friday that its bail-out was a result of a decision by the central bank to ask for additional provisions.

Richard Segal, a corporate debt strategist at investor Manulife Asset Management, said he was not surprised by the bank’s rescue because its capital had been running low.

One financial executive with knowledge of the rescue said the move cleared banking problems ahead of preparations for presidential elections.

“If not now … you will have to postpone the decision for at least a month. Plus, better to do it before the campaign is in its height,” said the person, who asked not to be named.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his intention to run for another term last week and on Friday, the upper house of the Russian parliament voted to set March 18 as the date of next year’s presidential election.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Budushchee, one of Russia’s largest private pension funds, the Credit Bank of Moscow and non-state pension fund Safmar are among Promsvyazbank shareholders, data from end-November published on the bank’s web-site showed.

(Reporting by Maria Kiselyova, Tatiana Voronova, Jack Stubbs, Elena Fabrichnaya, Elena Orekhova and Sujata Rao-Coverley, writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by John O’Donnell and Jane Merriman)

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from CapitalistHQ.com https://capitalisthq.com/russia-moves-to-save-promsvyazbank-in-third-bailout-this-year/

[melindarowens]

Russia moves to save Promsvyazbank in third bailout this year

December 15, 2017

By Tatiana Voronova and Jack Stubbs

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has stepped in to rescue Promsvyazbank, the country’s 10th largest private lender, its central bank said on Friday, the third in a series of costly financial bailouts this year.

Promsvyazbank (PSB) is the latest banking casualty since late August, when the central bank rescued Otkritie, once the country’s largest private bank, and later B&N.

The bailouts mark the biggest challenge to Russia’s financial sector since a banking crisis roughly 20 years ago and show how the country and its banks are grappling with the economic impact of the fall in oil prices and Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

One senior lawmaker said there would be no further such rescues this year.

There are slightly more than 500 banks in Russia, half the number it had some years ago, as the central bank continues a clean up. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday there was no target for the number of banks in Russia.

The central bank said it was providing funds to support Promsvyazbank’s liquidity and would send in temporary administrators.

It said there would be no moratorium on Promsvyazbank paying creditors and that the bank was operating as normal.

“As part of measures aimed at increasing (Promsvyazbank’s) financial stability and ensuring its continued work in the banking services market, it is planned that the Bank of Russia act as an investor using the funds of the Banking Sector Consolidation Fund,” the regulator said.

The latest rescue was announced on Friday, following late-night talks, when the central bank presented the troubled bank with an ultimatum: find 100 billion rubles ($1.7 billion) of extra capital or be bailed out.

People with direct knowledge of the matter said Promsvyazbank’s co-owner and chairman, Dmitry Ananyev, and central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina, agreed on a rescue at a late-night meeting.

Dmitry Ananyev and his brother, Alexei, who together control just over 50 percent of the bank, said on Friday the bank’s its serious difficulties had prompted them to ask for state support.

“Over a prolonged period of time the regulator was examining our assets, which resulted in a request for additional provisions and, as a result, the temporary administration was introduced,” their statement said.

Lawmaker Anatoly Aksakov, a member of the Duma finance committee and head of the Russian Banking Association, said the bailout would not affect the wider sector and was the last such step to be taken this year.

CLEAN SLATE

The latest rescue marks a reversal of fortune for three private banks with ties to the Kremlin and which had helped out dollar-starved Russian companies when big state banks were hampered by Western sanctions.

Otkritie, Promsvyazbank and B&N Bank, had won business lending to state energy firms and others needing to meet big overseas debt repayments as the Ukraine conflict closed financial markets to state lenders such as Sberbank <SBER.MM>.

The central bank said Otkritie and B&N were too financially weak to continue. Promsvyazbank said on Friday that its bail-out was a result of a decision by the central bank to ask for additional provisions.

Richard Segal, a corporate debt strategist at investor Manulife Asset Management, said he was not surprised by the bank’s rescue because its capital had been running low.

One financial executive with knowledge of the rescue said the move cleared banking problems ahead of preparations for presidential elections.

“If not now … you will have to postpone the decision for at least a month. Plus, better to do it before the campaign is in its height,” said the person, who asked not to be named.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his intention to run for another term last week and on Friday, the upper house of the Russian parliament voted to set March 18 as the date of next year’s presidential election.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Budushchee, one of Russia’s largest private pension funds, the Credit Bank of Moscow and non-state pension fund Safmar are among Promsvyazbank shareholders, data from end-November published on the bank’s web-site showed.

(Reporting by Maria Kiselyova, Tatiana Voronova, Jack Stubbs, Elena Fabrichnaya, Elena Orekhova and Sujata Rao-Coverley, writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by John O’Donnell and Jane Merriman)

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[globalbankinghouse-blog]

Lien On The Property Of The Former Promsvyazbank Owners- Ananyev Brothers

In the month of May, the imposition of a lien on the property of the former owners of the Promsvyazbank Dmitry and Alexei Ananyev by the Moscow arbitration court was all over the news. The decision was made at the suit of the bank that necessitates former owners and top managers a total of 282,2 billion. Bank accounts, stocks, two aircraft, several apartments and cars are among the seized property.

Moreover, liens on the building that houses the Institute of Russian realist art is stored there. It belongs to Alexey Ananyev’s collection of paintings. Not only Ananyev Promsvyazbank (PSB) brothers, but also the lawsuit brought against 15 other defendants.

Ananyev brothers owned a majority share in PSB until the winter of 2017, however, the Central Bank on 15 December decided to sanitize the Bank and brought him a temporary administration. Then Dmitry Ananyev fled Russia citing incorrectness of decision on the reorganization of the credit institution. He also claimed the reorganization to be “highly controversial”.

It was in December 2018 that the claim of the PSB to the former manual was submitted. According to the bank, their imprudent and impractical actions caused quite the damage of 282 billion.

You may be surprised to know that one of the Ananyev brothers- Dmitry Ananyev is included in the Board Of Trustees of the Russian Orthodox Church, with his brother Alexey Ananyev being one of the largest Russian Orthodox patrons, which implies that they are both deeply religious people.

The brothers actually have proven the fact that is so easy to manipulate international financial systems. It highlights the importance of tougher laws and sanctions, a continually updated list of sanctions and more thorough investigative oversight to prevent American financial institutions from being manipulated in the future. These can be achieved very easily now that we live in a technological era, we can easily utilize technology to monitor and implement early detection of shady financial transactions.

It is as important for pressure to be imposed on countries like Austria, UK and Cyprus to restrict the illegal flow of finances. There’s no denying that the Ananyev case, when properly investigated will bring incredible intelligence as to how the critical infrastructure financial systems were captured by oligarchs, shady banks and groups linked to foreign intelligence services.

For more insight, follow the article Global banking's house of cards.

[globalbankinghouse-blog]

Ananyev Promsvyazbank Was Fully Armed In Meeting Sanctions

In 2018, Promsvyazbank early redeemed the remaining Eurobonds in the amount of almost $ 190 million. The bank, which was soon about to serve the defense industry sector, risked facing severe sanctions from Western countries and therefore gave the opportunity to holders of its securities, including Russian, get out of them. Simultaneously, the liquidity of the bank was quite enough for redemption, and the proposed price, which was much higher than the then quotes, was comfortable for investors.

Promsvyazbank (PSB) on 15th June 2018 announced an offer to redeem Eurobonds due in 2019 with this issue of $ 250 million being placed in October 2016 with a rate of 5.25% per annum. There were currently no securities in circulation for $ 188.4 million, and the company offered to redeem the entire volume with a discount of 3% to face value. Applications were accepted until 14th June, and the results of the offer were to be announced the next day. The Bank from time to time used to use such transactions as one of the tools for managing liquidity, which allowed it to effectively regulate interest expenses on debt servicing. Repurchased bonds were about to be redeemed by the issuer.

The bank usually never used to maintain and did not previously conduct an active policy of wholesale funding. As of May 1, 2018 the funds attracted from the issued debt instruments made up only 1.6% of its liabilities (21.8 billion rubles). The bank accordingly was independent of either Russian or foreign public capital markets.

According to analysts, early redemption of bonds was likely to be carried out within the framework of point-based measures in order to optimize the structure of the bank's balance sheet. The development of wholesale funding was not yet seen as a promising and necessary direction in the face of the narrow specialization in the defense industry and state support. Hence, unliquidated obligations that have remained since the time of past beneficiaries and top managers were closed due to excess liquidity. The highly liquid assets of the bank were 300.9 billion rubles, liquid assets - 720.9 billion rubles- according to the published reports as of May 1. This step was supposed to save on interest payments.

Additionally, redemption at a price below the face value was suppose to allow to reflect the positive financial result in the reporting, according to the head of brokerage services department of key clients of BCS broker.

The decision, however, may have been connected with fears of expanding sanctions against the bank. The head of the temporary administration of the bank, Petr Fradkov, earlier said in an interview that for the Ananyev Promsvyazbank there are risks of falling under international sanctions due to servicing defense and sanctioning companies, so the credit organization is working out various scenarios for the development of events. Towards the beginning of May, sources reported that the DPM is considering the possibility of securing the leadership to protect it from falling under personal sanctions. According to the Deputy Commercial Director of Zerich Capital Management IC, PSB was afraid of freezing foreign assets and securities, and therefore was ready to redeem its Eurobonds. There was a risk of getting under severe sanctions under conditions of the future transformation of the PSB into a bank for the military industry, and thus the bank gave investors a chance to get out of this paper.

The proposal looked very interesting for the holders of securities. At that time, the issue wasn’t allocated with liquidity, and indicatively the prices were in the region of 93% of the face value, which was 4 percentage points lower than the buyback price. Such a lucrative offer was suppose to allow large holders to withdraw from these securities, as the proposed volume of redemption was equal to the value of the entire issue. Most investors couldn’t have let gone of such an opportunity.

For greater insight, follow The Washington Times article “Global banking’s house of cards.”

[globalbankinghouse-blog]

Is It Easy To Manipulate International Financial Systems? - Ananyev Brothers And Promsvyazbank

The simultaneous rise of information systems technology and the fall of communism throughout Eastern Europe and northern Asia in the early 1990s offered immense opportunities for ambitious and enthusiastic people. Sadly, for some people legitimate success is not enough. A case in point being Ananyev brothers- Dmitry and Alexey Ananyev.

They founded Technoserv in 1992, which became Russia’s top information technology (IT) company servicing Ministry of Interior, FSB (intel) and Russian government. Three years after that and after having become billionaires, the Ananyevs teamed with Moscow Intercity and International Telephone to establish Promsvyazbank. It was quite sensible for multi-billion-dollar corporations, particularly in unstable Russia, to create their own banking institutions. Credit unions in America are formed by corporations who wish to protect finances and wisely invest in the future of their own employees.

Promsvyazbank appeared to be a story of success for more than 25 years. Moscow Telephone in time sold off its interests, and the Ananyev brothers became leading shareholders. Promsvyazbank, along the way acquired two more banks, Vozrozhdenie and Avtoaz where Vozrozhdenie would come to play a significant role in what is now realized to be far less than legitimate business. Promsvyazbank, unfortunately was turned into a personal slush fund for the Ananyev brothers’ other financial ventures with the investors picking up the tab, and Cyprus and the Cayman Islands became off-shore tax havens.

Promsvyazbank, further shipping money overseas involved American banks of Citicorp, JP Morgan and New York Mellon. Though there’s no evidence to suspect the American banks, or even their London counterparts, of being intentionally involved in Promsvyazbank’s criminal activity. However, these banks likely contributed to the scheming through complacency or ignoring red flags. The U.S. financial collapse of 2008, the failure of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and the Bernie Madoff scandal, showed that during this period of time the U.S. banking system was not aggressively protecting itself against destruction and exploitation.

The Promsvyazbank bubble broke in August 2017, until then the Ananyevs were able to keep their illegitimate activities hidden. Four months later, in December, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) assumed administration of Promsvyazbank, and in the meantime the Ananyev brothers pulled an inside-bank heist via electronically-given loans, leaving investors with little to nothing with the money first being transferred to the less-monitored Cyprus branch of Promsvyazbank. Hundreds of credit files were removed as well.

The brothers, by involving the American and European banks in their schemes were able to provide a perception of trustworthiness. It should be noted that Russians trust Western banks more than their own, which has come back to haunt the Ananyevs as they are now subject to much stricter legal standards and investigative capabilities of Western governments.

Dmitry Ananyev, fled to Cyprus and Alexey to London and then to Austria, it only made it easier for Western governments to arrest them with there currently being legal actions against Promsvyazbank filed in the courts of Moscow, London and New York City. The sad part is these courts appear to be moving at the pace of a startled snail. Moreover, even the investigations by various authorities are incomplete, allowing for manipulation and abuse of the legal systems by the Ananyev brothers’ attorneys.

It is only Russia that appears to be ready for full prosecution with the motivation not being solely because its citizens have been hurt the most. The fall of Promsvyazbank has opened an opportunity for the government while having financially injured Russian investors. The CBR, also known as “Putin’s Bank,” by assuming administrative control of all the Ananyevs’ banking institutions is one major step closer to consolidating the Russian financial system. It allows the potential to avoid U.S. sanctions by using unlisted banks, too.

We can say that the Ananyev’s have proven how easy it is to manipulate international financial systems. A great lesson that it is, should also not be lost on the Trump administration and Congress. It necessitates tougher sanctions, tougher laws, a continually updated sanctions list and more thorough investigative oversight to prevent American financial institutions from being manipulated in the future. Fortunately, now the technology is available to monitor and implement early detection of shady financial transactions, and accountability needs to be enacted on American banks that ignore both laws and red flags.

In the same way, pressure must be imposed on countries like Austria, UK and Cyprus to limit the illegal flow of finances. All governments should be helping to recover the embezzled money and support the arrest of the brothers rather than providing sanctuary to them as what the brothers accomplished could almost be termed financial terrorism. Like terrorism, it isn’t going to be resolved until government and non-government authorities take appropriate and timely measure.

The latest money laundering scandals in Deutsche Bank, Nordea, Danske had highlighted the amounts of money which were laundered by Russian intelligence service and oligarchs. The case of Ananyevs, when properly investigated, will bring incredible intelligence as to how our critical infrastructure financial systems were captured by oligarchs, shady banks and groups associated with foreign intelligence services.

[globalbankinghouse-blog]

London High Court Again Freed The Assets Of The Ananyev Brothers

London High Court thawed the assets of the Ananyev brothers- Alexei and Dmitry Ananyev. The arrest was imposed on August 15, 2018 on the suit of holders of credit notes issued under the guarantees of businessmen.

The shares of Vozrozhdenie Bank were under arrest among other things and VTB announced its intention to buy it just before the arrest which hampered the deal as according to the VTB representative VTB was ready to acquire Vozrozhdenie only if "the asset was cleared and guaranteed against all possible legal consequences and claims.” To sell the "Revival" of the Central Bank demanded from the Ananyevs after the sanation of the Promsvyazbank owned by them, allowing the brothers to keep a maximum of 10%. The brothers divided the business: with the banker staying with the younger, Dmitry.

The seizure of assets was basically a provisional measure on the suit for $ 11.2 million and € 0.5 million, he was lodged with Ananyev by a group of holders of credit notes. The papers stopped being serviced, and investors went to court after the story with Ananyev Promsvyazbank.

On August 24, London High Court cancelled a court order on the global freezing of assets, a representative of one of the defendants said (the lawsuit was filed against the Ananyev brothers and eight companies). The court, according to him found that the plaintiffs did not disclose significant information, as a result of their position on the risk of concealing assets by the defendants was declared invalid. He did not specify what kind of information he was talking about though.

According to the court, since the sale of the "Renaissance" was supposed to occur on the orders of the Bank of Russia, then attempts to commit it by Ananyev weren’t indicative of the withdrawal of assets. The court revoked the arrest order. But stressed that the plaintiffs can again file a similar statement provided they are able to bring other additional evidence of the withdrawal of assets.

The London Court in July (2018) had already frozen the assets of Ananyev, following a lawsuit by another group of note holders. Under arrest, there were shares of the "Renaissance", too. Then VTB remarks Andrei Kostin said that until all legal inquiries were resolved, there would be no deal. The defendants after that - the brothers Ananyev - transferred the court $ 15.6 million and 11 million euros as security (for such amounts the first claim was filed), and the court lifted the arrest. It should be noted that during that time, the respondents did not deposit.

According to the respondent’s representative, the plaintiffs were obliged to compensate court expenses of the defendants by the court decision. According to him, they were supposed to turn to the plaintiffs for payment of their court expenses in the near future.

The article Global banking's house of cards will give you an insight on how the Ananyevs proved it was easy to manipulate international financial systems.

[digitalriskmanagement]

Seek Litigation Support To Identify And Detect Money Laundering

Even though new anti-money laundering rules appear every year and firms adopt various anti-money-laundering (AML) measures, there still hasn’t been much of a drop in the number of cases of criminals using the financial system to launder their gains attained unlawfully. This digital age has made all the more simpler for criminals to avoid detection of illegal transfer of money in the wake of rise in online banking institutions, anonymous online payment services, and the use of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ripple, Tron, etc. In addition to that, the use of proxy servers and anonymizing software makes it almost impossible to detect as money can be transferred or withdrawn hardly leaving any trace of an IP address.

It’s not just banks and other financial institutions that are on the front line in the fight against money laundering, but professional service firms are as much vulnerable. It is important for firms to be extremely cautious and should comply with the ever-evolving laws and regulations that need constant vigilance and flexibility. Seeking litigation support can help you to detect and prevent money laundering.

Follow these tips to protect your organization from money laundering:

1.      There should be a proper anti-money laundering (AML) programme in place that should be reflective of your business’ day to day activities.

2.      Your financial crime risk management framework should be in alignment for it to work effectively.

3.      You can clearly see how technology has taken over our lives- daily changing our lives and improving efficiency, so devise a clear technology plan. Digital risk management experts can help you in this regard. The technology plan will offer a plan of action of technology and communications that aligns with the overall goals to improve productivity, the customer experience, and software development, while alleviating digital risks.

4.      Conducting risk-based due diligence for all customers, associates, consultants and third parties should be a priority.

5.      Everyone in an organization should be prepared to efficiently respond to unusual activity, which will help nip the problem in the bud.

6.      Regular reviews and reassessments of your AML compliance program is a MUST.

The key is to have an effective financial crime risk strategy in place- an effective tool to combat money laundering.

This article is incomplete without the mention of the infamous Ananyev brothers.

The Ananyev brothers founded a bank named Promsvyazbank (PSB) - the 10th largest bank in Russia, which appeared to be a success story until the cover blew 25 years later with Promsvyazbank’s criminal activity coming to light. They convinced their best clients to take their money out of the bank and put that money into bogus “notes” for a higher return on investment (as claimed by the brothers). Ultimately, the brothers got away with over $500M of other people’s money. According to agitated Russian investors, the brothers literally ripped them off by misrepresenting the bank’s financial health.

Unfortunately, such cases are on a high even after the pandemic with criminals leveraging the situation to achieve their ends. It’s just innocent people that bear the brunt of their (criminals’) misdeeds.

[digitalriskmanagement]

Digital Risk Management Is The Key To Dealing With Digital Threats

There’s no doubt that the continued proliferation of digital technologies present businesses with unparalleled opportunities. At the same time, one must also remember that this digital age paves the way for a new age of financial crime. This is where organizations are struggling to keep up. This has particularly created a challenging environment for financial institutions like banks that must work in compliance with a global network of legal and regulatory frameworks, anti-money laundering (AML) directives, and sanctions. This will help banks avoid financial crimes like frauds ranging from cheque fraud, credit card fraud, medical fraud to corporate fraud, securities fraud, and theft, tax evasion, bribery, etc.

To keep pace with the rapid evolution of technological innovation, financial institutions must first devise appropriate digital risk management strategies, and tailor their risk-based approach to consider the money laundering implications raised by new technologies and new ways of conducting business. You can simply start by asking what threats and vulnerabilities these technologies come with, and what controls and measures they can put in place to mitigate them.

It is equally important for investigators to bring about changes in the way they investigate a financial crime. Instead of hunting for information and gathering documents, they should automate such tasks and focus more of their time on risk management. This will stand everyone involved in good stead.

This article started with the mention of the rising cases of bank frauds. In this regard, let’s talk about the infamous Ananyev brothers, and the heist pulled by them that took Russia to the edge.

The Ananyev brothers have been charged with embezzlement of around $1.6bn (the brothers have been accused of fraud and money laundering). The brothers- Alexai and Dmitry Ananyev- perpetrated a huge scam that cost dozens of Russians their life savings, and absconded. In 1992, the brothers founded Technoserv- Russia’s biggest in systems integration. They made their billions in the early 90s through it and owning a series of mining companies. The two also founded a bank named Promsvyazbank- the 10th largest bank in Russia, which appeared to be a success story until the cover blew 25 years later with Promsvyazbank’s criminal activity coming to light. They convinced their best clients to take their money out of the bank and put that money into bogus “notes” for a higher return on investment (as claimed by the brothers). Ultimately, the brothers got away with over $500M of other people’s money.

In light of these realities and in view of the kind of technology at your disposal, it is imperative that professionals do more than enhance their efficiency in your effort to prevent and combat financial crime.

Tips to manage your digital risk:

1.      Identify your crucial business assets (people, organizations like common infrastructure, service departments, and systems and supporting critical applications like websites, payment processing systems, etc.)

2.      Find out the potential threats to your business

3.      Watch out for unwanted exposure (consider sources like social media, dark web pages, file-sharing sites, paste sites, etc. to detect exposed assets)

Take action and devise a mitigation strategy to protect against digital risks

[digitalriskmanagement]

The Biggest Heist Ever Pulled By The Ananyev Brothers In Russia

This article aims to highlight the story of the infamous Ananyev brothers who made out like bandits in the wake of the fall of the USSR and became billionaires. Then ran off with the money of the numerous shareholders to offshore tropical paradises. The investors had to take the brunt of someone else’s wrongdoing.

Promsvyazbank, better known as PSB, founded by the Ananyev brothers is the latest post-Soviet lender that the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) took over. PSB is one of the ten largest banks in Russia that now faces suits filed by shareholders in London and Moscow. Russian investors in PSB debt claim to have been ripped off of over 200 million dollars. According to the lawyers representing 9 Russian investors, the Ananyev brothers- Dmitry and Alexei Ananyev- that owned PSB directed their agents to eye the bank’s customers, who of course, were a ready source of cash. This was in a bid to deceive Russian regulators into believing that the bank’s financial position was in good shape than it actually was. PSB appeared to be a success story until the cover blew 25 years later when Promsvyazbank’s criminal activity took center stage. In the time that the Central Bank of Russia was taking PSB Bank into administration in December 2017, the brothers were successful in convincing their investors—ordinary Russia citizens to deposit their savings in Loan Notes— eventually leaving them with next to nothing. They transferred the money first to the less-monitored Cyprus branch of Promsvyazbank, and also removed hundreds of credit files (done by PSB employees)- more than 300 credit files of around 90 borrowers -- out of the bank's offices, with a total value of more than 100 billion rubles. The Central Bank of Russia filed a lawsuit and an investigation has tracked some of the missing documents to a Moscow office building near PSB’s headquarters.

It can be rightly said that PSB is a classic example of Russian-style financial schemes with shell companies of shell companies nested in one another. These are outright theft of shareholder assets in the worst case scenario. The brothers are currently dealing with a case against them at the English Commercial Court in London. Besides PSB, Otkritie and B&N Bank (known as Bin Bank in Russia) are the other two famous names involved in criminal activities.

The banking system now in Russia is completely state-run with Sberbank and VTB Bank leading the pack. This isn’t actually a power grab by the State, contrary to what you might think, the banks that the Central Bank of Russia assumed administration of were in bad shape, or run as a piggy bank for its owners. Post the Soviet Union fall, many bank owners often used their banks as a personal slush fund for other enterprises they owned with the investors picking up the tab. The banks were also used for the purpose of laundering money into foreign banks and foreign real estate.

There is solid evidence that the Ananyev brothers wrongfully moved tons of money out of their banks in Russia and into foreign banks, which they had been doing for quite some time before PSB Bank was seized. It’s about time the culprits are brought to book and paid for their sins.

For further insight into the matter, follow the link below:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2018/09/27/brotherly-heist-a-sad-story-of-a-failed-russian-bank-and-its-toxic-aftermath/#690c2dad186b

[digitalriskmanagement]

Seek Litigation Support If Your Business Has Been Impacted By Money Laundering

Prevention is better than cure. Organizations must take appropriate measures to keep their businesses from getting affected by money laundering. Small as well as large businesses are often the victims of money laundering schemes. Small businesses especially are more vulnerable mainly due to their lack of experience and knowledge about the risks associated with certain types of transactions. Without even realizing they become a conduit for laundered money. The key is to gain the expertise at identifying money laundering regulations while building preventative measures against the involvement in money laundering.

Sometimes there’s no other way but having to take the legal recourse, in spite of the best efforts of those involved. Seeking litigation support is usually the best bet if your business has been affected by money laundering. Criminals who launder money have all the ways up their sleeve to conceal or make the money appear to have come from legitimate sources. Just for your information money laundering can include assets in various forms apart from cash. These cases are on an all-time high these days in view of technological developments and the risk of the dark webs, which has opened new avenues for the criminals to launder money. Litigation support services can help cut down the risk of being exploited by organized crime for money laundering.

Let’s take a look at one of the infamous money laundering cases that shook the nation of Russia- the case of Ananyev brothers.

The Ananyev brothers- Alexei and Dmitry Ananyev- are currently on the run. In September 2019, a Moscow court put out an order of arrest for embezzlement of $1.6 billion by the brothers. Everything was fine until 2017 when the brothers’ criminal activities came to light. Alexei Ananyev had a net worth of $1.4 billion that he had earned from IT and banking, and that Technoserv (Russia’s largest systems integration firm), owned by the Ananyev brothers.

They together founded a bank named Promsvyazbank (PSB) - the 10th largest bank in Russia, which appeared to be a success story until the cover blew 25 years later with Promsvyazbank’s reality exposed. They convinced their best clients to take their money out of the bank and put that money into bogus “notes” for a higher return on investment (as claimed by the brothers). Ultimately, the brothers got away with over $500M of other people’s money. According to agitated Russian investors, the brothers literally ripped them off by misrepresenting the bank’s financial health.

Popular money laundering channels that criminals use to carry out the task:

1.      Financial institutions like banks

2.      Casinos

3.      High-value goods

4.      Money transfer or remittance services

5.      Dark web

Watch out for these warning signs indicating money laundering is taking place:

No matter which industry your business belongs to, you are equally vulnerable to being tricked by criminals into laundering their money for them.

However, watch for the following signs to be able to take swift action.

1.      An unusual transaction

2.      Little or no information about the other party involved

3.      The party is insistent on dealing only in cash or pay from various sources

4.      Sudden involvement of a third party to carry out the payments

5.      A change in ownership all of a sudden and in the way transactions are being done

Here are some measures you can take to counteract money laundering:

1.      Carry out an identity check of your customers

2.      Figure out the risk for your business to be used by criminals to launder money

3.      Put cash limits in place

4.      Bring in checks and balances

5.      Make it a point to carry out yearly background checks on members entrusted with the responsibility of large transactions

6.      Place all the vital documents associated with financial transactions securely

7.      There should be two or more senior members in place to look over transactions that involve large sums of money from time to time

Being mindful of the warning signs, asking as many questions as possible (criminals hate and avoid answering questions), performing due diligence to verify and confirm the claims of another party prior to signing a contract or getting into a partnership, and training your staff in terms of making them aware of the money laundering regulations and ensuring they can monitor warning signs- can dramatically cut down the risks of money laundering from affecting your business.

[digitalriskmanagement]

Everything You Need To Know About Asset Tracing And Recovery

Assets can be many things starting from real estate, stocks to shares, undeclared bank accounts, vehicles, yachts, company assets, not to mention money, basically anything that an organization or an individual owns. There has been a rise in the number of cases of frauds and thefts that has cost many victims their assets in the wake of scams, embezzlement or theft. This is where asset tracing or asset tracking comes into the picture.

Let’s talk about the case of Ananyev brothers that took Russia to the edge. The brothers’ fled Russia after they were successful in pulling a heist that ripped many investors off their savings by misrepresenting their bank’s – Promsvyazbank (PSB) - financial health.  They have been charged with embezzlement of around $1.6bn (the brothers have been accused of fraud and money laundering). A warrant for their arrest is out. Many Russian savers are working at finding a way to get their money back after they bought $240m of guaranteed notes sold by PSB that subsequently defaulted. German savers are also said to be among the alleged victims.

The brothers founded the bank Promsvyazbank (PSB) - the 10th largest bank in Russia, which appeared to be a success story until the cover blew 25 years later with Promsvyazbank’s criminal activity coming to light. They convinced their best clients to take their money out of the bank and put that money into bogus “notes” for a higher return on investment (as claimed by the brothers). Ultimately, the brothers got away with over $500M of other people’s money.

This is one of the famous, or infamous to be accurate, cases that has been cited as an example. Investors are leaving no stone unturned in bringing the culprits to book and working towards asset recovery. It doesn’t end with just this one case. There are many cases on similar lines.

If you’ve been duped like this, it’s best to seek expert help in recovering your asset. Asset tracing basically is a legal process of locating something of value to an individual or organization that has been defrauded. An expert can help you trace and recover your assets quickly and legally. A specialist in the field with global experience will ensure the safe recovery of your asset in the least possible time.

Even in the wake of the unprecedented Covid-19, such cases are on an upward trend with fraudsters, con artists, Ponzi schemers, etc. carrying on undeterred, sadly exploiting the opportunities at a time when so many people are under duress and out there to seek unemployment benefits and eagerly looking forward to government financial aid.

If you or your company has been defrauded, take swift action in terms of using asset tracking and recovery services to regain what has been wrongly taken. Tracking assets is a specialist work that requires legal and financial experts to unravel the web of transactions to trace their origin ultimately ending in identifying, freezing and recovering misappropriated assets.

[digitalriskmanagement]

Digital Risk Management Is Integral For Your Organization

With the growing number of organizations shifting to a digital workplace, what is also growing is their susceptibility to digital threats. Does that mean one must not undergo digital transformation? The answer is NO. Digital risks are inherent to every industry. The thing of significant importance is having a digital risk management strategy in place.

Every new device or software that an organization adds to its infrastructure comes with digital risks that can act as obstacles to the organization’s growth and development. There are different types of digital risks:

Cybersecurity- With the growing reliance on technology, there is also the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive company data, which is pretty evident from the rising number of cyberattacks.

Third-party- With more organizations especially financial institutions embracing software solutions to digitize operations, there is a greater risk of losing control of data to third-party providers attached to it. Companies need to be aware of cyber resilience of the vendor, data sharing and data ownership policy, and compliance with laws and regulations if you are looking at integrating third-party solutions.

Privacy- It is important for organizations to work towards protecting sensitive data of staff/customers. Failing to do so can end in the organization facing several issues starting from costly litigation to negative publicity to others.

Automation- It’s true automation ensures quick growth while saving time, at the same time its negative side to business processes cannot be overlooked.  The fact that AI-based automation tools can create risks hard to predict long-term can be cited as an example in this regard.

Technology- It is important that you make an informed decision when it comes to selecting technology (cloud platform, programming languages, security tools, etc.) for your business, since technology relevant now may become obsolete in a few years’ time. Digital risk also comes in the form of unavailability of critical technologies due to power failures, dependencies, or incompatibilities, which can halt operations thus impacting business processes and employees. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Risk- Out of all the digital security risks, this is, perhaps, the least talked about and least understood among professionals. This can be attributed to a lack of solid understanding of artificial intelligence. You must understand and learn to deal with the margin of errors associated with the predictions and decisions made by AI.

Digital transformation means becoming more efficient through digital means, which mainly involves shifting to more sophisticated, modern, and versatile approaches and strategies from outdated/obsolete applications and systems. The fact that these are accompanied by new forms of old threats makes it important for organizations, financial institutions like banks in particular, to pull up their socks and put a solid digital risk management strategy in consultation with an expert in place.

Banks especially should devise strategies to efficiently manage their digital risks in view of the rising number of fraud cases, a case in point being the infamous case of Ananyev brothers who established Promsvyazbank in 1995 that appeared to be a success story until the bubble broke in 2017 with the bank’s criminal activity coming to light. They convinced their best clients to take their money out of the bank and put that money into bogus “notes” for a higher return on investment (as claimed by the brothers). Ultimately, the brothers got away with over $500M of other people’s money. The Ananyev brothers have been charged with embezzlement of around $1.6bn (the brothers have been accused of fraud and money laundering).