Sentenced to 30 years in prison in Kyrgyzstan the former chairman of the board of AsiaUniversalBank (AUB) Mikhail Nadel emerged in the U.K. with an alias Michael Strogonov. Bloomberg reports with reference to its own investigation.
In February 2015, the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek found Mikhail Nadel guilty of committing crimes under the articles «Money Laundering» and «Complicity in Criminal Activity» of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Prior to that, in 2011 and 2014, he was convicted in absentia of fraud and money laundering. In total, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
As the media outlet says, Mikhail Nadel helped set up a payments company in Britain.
«Strogonov, 53, who described himself in corporate filings as a Russian based in Italy, didn’t appear to hold any other directorships, U.K. company records show. The business he incorporated in 2018 — Dzing Finance Ltd. — was just one of hundreds of firms that have been authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority to process payments and hold client funds,» the article says.
As Bloomberg reports, Nadel officially changed his name several years ago and both are stated in his passport. He uses Strogonov, also his mother’s maiden name, in business matters and Nadel in private affairs.
Strogonov was the only director listed in Dzing’s incorporation documents filed to the U.K. business register, Companies House, in May 2018. Though he resigned from the board in October of that year, before the FCA awarded Dzing a license to operate as an EMI in July 2019, he has remained active in helping to run the business ever since.
Steven Francis, a lawyer at Addleshaw Goddard LLP who represents Dzing, told that Nadel is not an employee of the firm and acts as an adviser to its controlling shareholder Tatjana Orlova — the ex-wife of the Russian billionaire Vitaly Orlov.
The lawyer also noted that Nadel has denied any wrongdoing at AUB. «He has always maintained that the allegations made against him were malicious and politically motivated,» he stressed.
Dzing Finance Ltd. deals in prepaid cards and digital wallets through a partnership with Mastercard Inc. The company is also a «payment solution provider» for Mineplex Pte., a Singapore-based cryptocurrency business that offers a digital token called PLEX.
«Today, Nadel spends his time between Tel Aviv and the U.K., according to his LinkedIn profile. He works as a financial consultant and a «mentor of a few projects» including a «promising fintech service,» the media outlet reports.
