Russia

News Release by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission that it has successfully applied for the administration of VTBC Asset Management International Limited "in order to protect the interests of investors and the reputation of the Bailiwick as a financial centre given the ongoing impact of sanctions resulting from the Russo-Ukrainian war".

Application by GMJ Asset Management Company Inc. to take discovery from KBC Bank NV, New York Branch; KBC Financial Products USA Inc., KBC Securities USA LLC, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for use in legal proceedings "against KBC Bank in relation to violation of banking laws and fraudulent concealment, and potentially conversion", filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Class Action Complaint alleging securities fraud involving Credit Suisse's business relationship with "Russian oligarchs" in Carlos de March Bosch v. Credit Suisse Group AG, of Zürich, Switzerland; Thomas P. Gottstein, David R. Mathers at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Petition to Confirm Arbitration Award in Stabil LLC, Rubenor LLC, Rustel LLC, Novel-Estate LLC, PII Kirkovograd-Nafta LLC, Crimea-Petrol LLC, Pirsan LLC, Trade-Trust LLC, Elefteria LLC, VKF-Satek LLC, and Stemv Group LLC, described as "eleven Ukrainian companies that invested in the petrol retail business in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol prior to 2014, when Crimea was under the jurisdiction of Ukraine" v. The Russian Federation at the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Application by JSC Ingtorgstroy, of Russia, to take discovery from Citibank NA, The Bank of New York Mellon, Société Générale, New York Branch; HSBC Bank USA NA, BNP Paribas USA, JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, Barclays Bank PLC, Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas, The Bank of Nova Scotia, New York Agency; UBS AG, Bank of America NA, Standard Chartered Bank US, Commerzbank AG, New York Branch, and The Clearing House Payments Company LLC for use in legal proceedings "against former CEOs and beneficial owners of OJSC "GK Amazarkan", including Pavel Entin and Bogdan Solodukha before the commercial court of Moscow city and the commercial court of Kaluga Region, Russia", filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Judgment refusing to set aside a statutory demand for $13 million in Morden Finance Limited, of Cyprus v. Benono Holdings Ltd. at the British Virgin Islands High Court

Judgment for $142.5 million in Recovery Partners GP Limited, of the British Virgin Islands, and Revoker LLP, of England v. Irakli Rukhadze, Igor Alexeev, Benjamin Marson, Hunnewell Partners (UK) LLP, Hunnewell Partners (BVI) Limited, Park Street (GP) Limited, Park Street (BR) Limited, Park Street (GS) Limited, and Park Street (L) Limited at the High Court of Justice for England and Wales.

Former U. S. President Donald Trump filed a racketeering complaint at federal court in Florida today against Hillary Clinton and several others, including intelligence industry participants in the U.S. and United Kingdom, for allegedly engaging in a "scheme" to "show an incriminating link" between him and Russia.

Complaint alleging racketeering in Donald J. Trump v. Hillary R. Clinton, HFACC, Inc., the Democratic National Committee, DNC Services Corporation, Perkins Coie, LLC, Michael Sussmann, Marc Elias, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Charles Halliday Dolan, Jr., Jake Sullivan, John Podesta, Robert E. Mook, Phillipe Reines, Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, Peter Fritsch, Nellie Ohr, Bruce Ohr, Orbis Business Intelligence, Ltd., Christopher Steele, Igor Danchenko, Neustar, Inc., Rodney Joffe, James Comey, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Kevin Clinesmith, and Andrew McCabe at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

British Virgin Islands-domiciled Yukos Capital Limited yesterday filed a petition at federal court in Washington, D.C. to enforce a $5 billion arbitration award that was entered against Russia last year in Switzerland.

Petition to Enforce Arbitral Award that "arises from Russia’s illegal expropriation of Yukos Capital’s multi-billion dollar investments in Yukos Oil Company in the form of two loans made in 2003 and 2004" in Yukos Capital Limited, of the British Virgin Islands, described as "a former, indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Yukos Oil" v. The Russian Federation at the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Judgment on i). Ogier's application to stop representing VTB Bank following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, ii). whether a Receivership Order requires "the Governor's licence" due to sanctions, and iii) whether Arrowcrest is subject to the Court's jurisdiction in JSC VTB Bank, a Russian state-owned bank v. Sergey Taruta and Arrowcrest Ltd. at the British Virgin Islands High Court.

Judgment striking out action for "an abuse of process of the Court" in Andrey Titarenko v. Appleby (BVI) Limited, Terence Wyndham Wong, Andrew Willins, Laure-Astrid Wigglesworth, and Fraser Mitchell at the British Virgin Islands High Court.

Application for Appointment of Liquidator in Andrey Titarenko, of Russia v. Emmerson International Corp. at the British Virgin Islands High Court.

Forfeiture Complaint regarding funds allegedly traceable to ransomware attacks in USA v. $1 million seized from a Binance account in the name of Evegnii Polianin at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Criminal Complaint alleging visa fraud, making false statements to the FBI, and acting illegally as a foreign agent of Russia in USA v. Elena Branson, a.k.a. Elena Chernykh, a dual citizen of Russia and the USA, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Director Details for EG Capital Advisors, obtained from the Cayman Islands General Registry on February 17th, 2022.

Application by Bank Otkritie Financial Corporation PJSC, described as "one of Russia’s largest full-service commercial banks" that went into administration in 2017 and received "a USD $8 billion bail-out using public funds", and National Bank Trust PJSC, described as being "owned by the Otkritie Group", to take discovery from Citibank, N.A., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas for use in legal proceedings in England regarding "a complex fraudulent scheme" involving "prominent Russian businessman named Boris Mints, his family, and his affiliated entities", including British Virgin Islands-domiciled Coniston Management Limited, that allegedly caused a loss of $500 million, filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Order Staying Release of Defendants in USA v. Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan at the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Motion for Emergency Stay and Review of Release Order in USA v. Ilya Lichtenstein, a dual citizen of Russia and USA, and Heather Morgan at the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

A New York couple - Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife, Heather Morgan, 31 - have been arrested and charged in the United States with conspiring to launder Bitcoin now worth $4.5 billion that was allegedly stolen in a 2016 hack of the British Virgin Islands-owned cryptocurrency exchange known as Bitfinex.

Notice of Ukraine's Motion to Quash or Modify Third-Party Subpoenas served on 52 financial institutions, claiming that "in the context of Russia’s imminently threatened invasion of Ukraine, a Russian oil company with close ties to the Russian government should not be permitted to use discovery in aid of a judgment as a pretext for demanding sensitive information bearing on Ukraine’s military, national security, and monetary stability" in Ukraine v. PAO Tatneft at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Criminal Complaint alleging conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiring to defraud the United States involving Bitcoin currently "valued at over $4.5 billion" that was allegedly stolen in a 2016 hack of Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency exchange operated by a British Virgin Islands-domiciled firm in USA v. Ilya Lichtenstein, described as "a Russian-U.S. national residing in New York", and his wife, Heather Rhiannon Morgan.

Originating Application in Raginta Investments Limited, of Cyprus v. Moris Invest Group Ltd. at the British Virgin Islands High Court.

Complaint "to pierce the corporate veil of two judgment debtors Marker LLC and Marker Craig LLC" in BM-Bank JSC, f.k.a. Bank of Moscow, described as "an international bank based in Moscow" v. Naila Sadikhova at the Eighth Judicial District Court for Clark County, Nevada.

Originating Application in Morden Finance Limited, of Cyprus v. Benono Holdings Ltd. at the British Virgin Islands High Court.

Public Notice by the Malta Financial Services Authority that it has imposed a fine of €3,750 on Family Office Malta Limited for a regulatory breach.

Claim Form in Alfa-Bank JSC, of Russia v. Kipford Ventures Limited at the British Virgin Islands High Court.

Motion for Attorney's Fees and Costs by Brandon Ng and Cookie Choi after a Temporary Asset Freeze Order against them was dismissed in a case in which they have been accused of stealing Bitcoin worth $80 million in Steven Paul Kowalski, a citizen of Australia residing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates v. Binance Holdings Ltd., of the Cayman Islands; BAM Trading Services Inc., d.b.a. Binance US, of Delaware; Binance Asia Services Pte Ltd., of Singapore; Payward Inc., d.b.a. Kraken; Payward Ventures Inc., of Delaware; Brandon Chun Yin Ng, described as a citizen of the United States residing in Texas; Hiu Lam Cookie Choi, described as a citizen of Hong Kong residing in Texas; Wai Kit Lo and Lee Kei Lau, described as citizens and residents of Hong Kong; Nurlan Neqmat Ogly Guliev and Oksana Aleksandrovna Dolgopolova, described as citizens and residents of Russia, at the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit, in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from Westpac Financial Services Company - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from Ecuador - for a criminal investigation into Dmitri Andreevich Grekov, Vadim Vasilenko, Anton Vereshchagin, Oleg Kruglov, all described as citizens of Russia and "members of a drug trafficking organization", and others for suspected money laundering.

Dubai-based Australian Steven Kowalski is suing 11 individuals and companies in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, and the United States after Bitcoin worth $80 million was allegedly stolen from him in "a sophisticated malware attack" and laundered through accounts at cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Kraken.

Russia's National Bank Trust is seeking records from three New York banks as part of its attempt to recover the proceeds of "a multi-billion dollar banking fraud perpetrated by two brothers, Dmitri and Alexei Ananyev", who are allegedly linked with entities in several jurisdictions, including Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Cyprus, Marshall Islands, and Seychelles.

Application by PJSC National Bank Trust, of Russia, to take discovery from JPMorgan Chase NA, Bank of New York Mellon, and Citibank NA for use in legal proceedings in Cyprus regarding "a multi-billion dollar banking fraud perpetrated by two brothers, Dmitri and Alexei Ananyev", filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Transcript of evidentiary hearing on a motion by Brandon Ng and Cookie Choi to dissolve an asset freeze injunction in Steven Paul Kowalski, a citizen of Australia residing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates v. Binance Holdings Ltd., of the Cayman Islands; BAM Trading Services Inc., d.b.a. Binance US, of Delaware; Binance Asia Services Pte Ltd., of Singapore; Payward Inc., d.b.a. Kraken; Payward Ventures Inc., of Delaware; Brandon Chun Yin Ng, described as a citizen of the United States residing in Texas; Hiu Lam Cookie Choi, described as a citizen of Hong Kong residing in Texas; Wai Kit Lo and Lee Kei Lau, described as citizens and residents of Hong Kong; Nurlan Neqmat Ogly Guliev and Oksana Aleksandrovna Dolgopolova, described as citizens and residents of Russia, at the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit, in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Order dissolving freeze injunction against Brandon Ng and Cookie Choi in Steven Paul Kowalski, a citizen of Australia residing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates v. Binance Holdings Ltd., of the Cayman Islands; BAM Trading Services Inc., d.b.a. Binance US, of Delaware; Binance Asia Services Pte Ltd., of Singapore; Payward Inc., d.b.a. Kraken; Payward Ventures Inc., of Delaware; Brandon Chun Yin Ng, described as a citizen of the United States residing in Texas; Hiu Lam Cookie Choi, described as a citizen of Hong Kong residing in Texas; Wai Kit Lo and Lee Kei Lau, described as citizens and residents of Hong Kong; Nurlan Neqmat Ogly Guliev and Oksana Aleksandrovna Dolgopolova, described as citizens and residents of Russia, at the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit, in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Director Details for Continium Investments Fund, obtained from the Cayman Islands General Registry on December 28th, 2021.

Director Details for Continium Asset Management Company, obtained from the Cayman Islands General Registry on December 28th, 2021.

The bankruptcy trustees of London-based Russian suspected fraudster Anatoly Motylev are seeking records from seven banks in New York as they hunt for the "billions of Rubles" he is accused of misappropriating from failed Russian banks and pension funds he once controlled.

Application by Kevin Hellard and Jonathan Thielmann, as Joint Trustees in the English bankruptcy proceedings of Anatoly Leonidovich Motylev, who "is responsible for the collapse of several Russian banks and pension funds that he controlled and has been held liable for these institutions’ debts as a result of the fraud he and his associates perpetrated", to take discovery from Bank of America NA, Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., HSBC Bank, Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, and Commerzbank AG, filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The alleged fraud and money laundering scheme involves entities and accounts in several jurisdictions, including Austria, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, England, Germany, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Panama, Russia, Scotland, Seychelles, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and USA, it was stated in the application.

Complaint alleging fraud in U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Vladislav Kliushin, a.k.a. Vladislav Klyushin; Nikolai Rumiantcev, a.k.a. Nikolay Rumyantcev; Mikhail Irzak, Igor Sladkov, and Ivan Yermakov, a.k.a. Ivan Ermakov, all described as citizens and residents of Russia, at the U. S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Fixed Date Claim Form seeking that "Judgments and Orders be quashed" and other relief in Andrey Titarenko, a citizen of Russia; Romos Limited, and Goldfort Limited v. The Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands, Adrian Jack, and Gerhard Wallbank, both judges at the British Virgin Islands High Court, at the British Virgin Islands High Court.

In a complaint filed at the British Virgin Islands High Court, Kazakhstan's BTA Bank has accused 53 defendants in the BVI, Cyprus, Germany, Guernsey, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Panama, Russia, Seychelles, Singapore, Switzerland, and USA, including its former chairman, Mukhtar Ablyazov, of defrauding the bank of $231 million.

Application by JSC BTA Bank, of Kazakhstan, to take discovery from The Clearing House Payments Company LLC and "thirteen intermediary banks", namely Bank of America NA, Bank of China, The Bank of New York, BNP Paribas USA, Citibank NA, Commerzbank AG, Deutsche Bank Trust Company, HSBC Bank USA NA, JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, Société Générale AG, Standard Chartered Bank, UBS AG, and Wells Fargo Bank NA regarding Saint Vincent and the Grenadines-domiciled Panolos Limited for use in legal proceedings in England "against BTA Bank's former chairman, and primary shareholder, Mukhtar Ablyazov, upon BTA Bank's discovery that Ablyazov had illegally misappropriated as much as $7.5 Billion of BTA Bank’s assets and subsequently laundered the proceeds through multiple financial institutions all over the world", filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Application by the State Corporation Deposit Insurance Agency, of Russia, on behalf of International Bank of St. Petersburg, to take discovery from Standard Chartered Bank for use in "anticipated proceedings in Russia ... against Sergei Bazhanov (the former Chairman of the Management Board and majority shareholder of IBSP), Alexander Zuev (a former member of IBSP’s Board of Directors and Bazhanov's brother-in-law), and Hervet Investments Limited, a minority shareholder of IBSP" regarding "a series of fraudulent transactions", filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Application for a Temporary Injunction in Steven Paul Kowalski, a citizen of Australia residing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates v. Binance Holdings Ltd., of the Cayman Islands; BAM Trading Services Inc., d.b.a. Binance US, of Delaware; Binance Asia Services Pte Ltd., of Singapore; Payward Inc., d.b.a. Kraken; Payward Ventures Inc., of Delaware; Brandon Chun Yin Ng, described as a citizen of the United States residing in Texas; Hiu Lam Cookie Choi, described as a citizen of Hong Kong residing in Texas; Wai Kit Lo and Lee Kei Lau, described as citizens and residents of Hong Kong; Nurlan Neqmat Ogly Guliev and Oksana Aleksandrovna Dolgopolova, described as citizens and residents of Russia, at the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit, in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Complaint in Steven Paul Kowalski, a citizen of Australia residing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates v. Binance Holdings Ltd., of the Cayman Islands; BAM Trading Services Inc., d.b.a. Binance US, of Delaware; Binance Asia Services Pte Ltd., of Singapore; Payward Inc., d.b.a. Kraken; Payward Ventures Inc., of Delaware; Brandon Chun Yin Ng, described as a citizen of the United States residing in Texas; Hiu Lam Cookie Choi, described as a citizen of Hong Kong residing in Texas; Wai Kit Lo and Lee Kei Lau, described as citizens and residents of Hong Kong; Nurlan Neqmat Ogly Guliev and Oksana Aleksandrovna Dolgopolova, described as citizens and residents of Russia, at the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit, in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Credit Suisse's operations in Switzerland and England have admitted swindling investors and agreed to pay $475M in penalties as part of a "Coordinated Global Resolution" of fraud and corruption allegations regarding loan and securities offerings involving the Republic of Mozambique.

Administrative Order by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission imposing penalties totaling $6.4 million on VTB Capital Plc regarding "material omissions and misleading statements in a 2016 bond offering for which VTB Capital Plc, a London-based investment bank, acted with Credit Suisse Group AG as joint-lead manager".

Claim Form alleging conspiracy to commit fraud, dishonest assistance, breaches of fiduciary duty, and unjust enrichment against defendants in the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, Germany, Guernsey, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Panama, Russia, Seychelles, Singapore, Switzerland, and USA in JSC BTA Bank, of Kazakhstan v. Timur Sabyrbaev, Dilara Dyusembayeva, Assel Zhaxybayeva, Asel Suindikova, Marina Aitzhanova, Janelle Utemuratova, Svetlana Chvanova, Veronika Efimova, Saduakas Mameshtegi, Dina Abdykalykova, Akzholtay Mukanovna Kalenova, Kairat Sadykov, Irina Kanaphina, Madina Nurgozhina, AEG Systems Inc., Calernen Finance Inc., Zathen Holding Investments Limited, formerly Carsonway Limited; Comwork Ltd.,Kinmate Trading Limited, Estar Developments Limited, Lingard Industry Limited, Daniels Tradecorp Inc., Mabco Inc., Klostrade Financial Group Ltd., Dana Trade Corp., Global Team Company, Tramlanes Investments Limited, formerly Bergtrans Contracts Corp.; Moranta Invest (Cyprus) Limited, John Wortley Hunt, Luis Davis, Stan Gorin, Vasiliki Argyrou, Labonte Elisana Marie-Antoinette, Diego Jacinto Batista Valdes, Carlos Alberto Mendoza Murillo, Suseth Walthia Parris, Kellee France, Geoffrey Taylor, Belinda Lanyon, Christopher Blythe, Roger Alberto Santamaria, Nicholetta Christodoulidou, ADM-ACTI Trade Resources Inc., ADM Asia-Pacific Trading Pte. Ltd., formerly Toepfer International Asia Pte. Ltd.; ADM Germany GmbH, formerly Alfred C. Toepfer International GmbH; Eric Richardson, Grove Services Inc., Bunge SA, Bunge CIS LLC, Dauren Bekbergenov, Ekaterina Kuzmicheva, Mukhtar Ablyazov, Roman Solodchenko, and Zhaksylyk Zharimbetov at the British Virgin Islands High Court.

Order of Release on $80 million bond and other conditions in USA. Mark Gyetvay, the Chief Financial Officer of Russian gas producer Novatek who is apparently a citizen of Italy, Russia, and the United States, at the U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.