The Wayward Millions Of Lithuania’S Runaway Banker

From The Organized Crime in addition to Corruption Reporting Project, xiv December:

Lithuania’s Vladimir Romanov absconded to Russian Federation to a greater extent than than iv years ago, leaving investigators grasping to recoup millions they believe he stole from Ukio Bankas. They’re all the same chasing the coin today.

Vladimir Romanov, on the lam from Lithuania, is suspected of robbing his ain bank. Investigators enjoin prove contained inward the Paradise Papers leak of offshore fiscal information points to how it was done.

The floor starts amongst a pocket-sized piece of the world on the outskirts of Lithuania’s majuscule urban nub of Vilnius. It was supposed to hold out developed into a modern residential neighborhood, funded yesteryear a €10.3 1000000 (US$ 15.62 million) loan from Romanov’s bank. The coin was used instead to purchase a £14.9 1000000 ($29.6 million) holding inward London at 43 Grosvenor St., Mayfair. The ultimate beneficiary of the bargain was Romanov’s niece, Julija Goncaruk.

Romanov has been hiding inward Russian Federation since 2014, in addition to a legal battle is all the same raging over the cash sunk into that London property, according to Lithuanian investigators. Among the claimants jostling for a slice of the spoils is a fellowship that appears to hold out tied to Romanov’s inner circle.

A Bank With a History
Romanov was long i of the almost flamboyant personalities inward the Lithuanian fiscal universe. He owned a football game gild inward Scotland in addition to a basketball game squad inward Lithuania. In both cases, he was famous for sacking coaches in addition to other impulsive actions.

He also established a political political party which came inward end inward the 2012 parliamentary elections amongst a meager 0.25 per centum of the vote. It was the third-worst functioning inward Lithuanian parliamentary elections inward the 21st century.

But Romanov didn’t brand his coin inward sports or politics; he made it inward banking.

His Lithuanian bank, Ukio Bankas, surfaced inward several coin laundering investigations, including allegations that it handled around of the Russian coin stolen inward a scandal uncovered yesteryear the belatedly Sergei Magnitsky. Ukio became infamous inward 2013, when Lithuania’s Central Bank revoked its license in addition to took it over. H5N1 criminal representative was launched into alleged embezzlement, in addition to Romanov departed Republic of Lithuania for Russia, where he has been granted asylum.

Lithuania cited “harmful actions” yesteryear Ukio Bankas’ shareholders equally the principal reasons for intervening. Authorities feared that the fiscal institution, already on the brink of collapse, was beingness systematically stripped of assets yesteryear the people running it.

Moving Republic of Lithuania to London
Daniliskes is the pocket-sized piece of province exterior Vilnius that was supposed to hold out transformed into a modern residential surface area inward 2008. According to leaked documents prepared yesteryear Lithuanian constabulary enforcement, Ukio Bank lent €10.3 1000000 (15.62 1000000 $) for the innovation to a Lithuanian fellowship called Tristanas, owned yesteryear Ilja Jaroslavskis, a long-time associate of diverse Romanov-related companies.

But inside days, Tristanas wired the coin to England. The fellowship never put a unmarried brick inward Daniliskes. Instead, it went into liquidation a few years later.

This is where the Paradise Papers come upwardly in. That’s the request a leak of 13.4 1000000 documents from 2 offshore services firms based inward Bermuda in addition to Singapore, equally good equally from nineteen corporate registries maintained yesteryear governments inward surreptitious offshore jurisdictions.

The documents, which surfaced to a greater extent than than a yr after the like Panama Papers scandal, were obtained yesteryear the Süddeutsche Zeitung in addition to shared amongst the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which inward plough organized a collaborative investigation amongst dozens of outlets across the world. The grouping included the Organized Crime in addition to Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) in addition to its Lithuanian partner, 15min.lt....MUCH MORE​