Vladimer Gersamia is Guilty of £141M Fraud – Beware

Originally Syndicated on June 9, 2024 @ 12:11 pm

Vladimer Gersamia was one of two City traders found guilty of conspiring to defraud a Russian bank of £141 million.

Vladimir Gersamia and George Urumov were found guilty of several counts of fraud, including a conspiracy to commit fraud, by the Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday. They now face jail sentences in the UK. The victim of the complicated fraud operation was Russian bank Otkritie, with the losses due to the illicit conduct topping £141 million, according to a story in the Financial Times.

The major elements of the fraud were the mispricing of Argentinian warrants and management manipulation of the bank over a sign-on fee. Because of the fraudulent schemes run by its former workers, a London court granted Otkritie preliminary damages for approximately $150 million in February 2014.

Vladimer Gersamia’s Fraudulent Practices

The misleading activities started in 2010 when Urumov joined the division of Otkritie Securities Limited, a Russian Otkritie Financial Corporation. He failed to divide a “sign-on fee” fairly among himself and four bond traders; the FT and Reuters estimate its value at $25 million and $23 million, respectively. He kept the lion’s share all to himself instead.

In addition, Otkritie purchased Argentinian warrants in 2011 for $213 million, only to learn later that the assets only had a $62 million market value. Additionally, when the warrants were traded in Argentine pesos, the bank received a guarantee that they were done so in US dollars. More than £120 million in fraud losses resulted from this deception.

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Vladimer Gersamia had helped Urumov cover the traces of the fraud. Then the money the men took was transferred to numerous accounts abroad. According to the judgment from 2014, the defendants used offshore companies to launder the money generated from the fraud, which was used to purchase properties, diamonds, and cars.

On January 25, 2017, Yulia Balk, the wife of Urumov, was cleared of two charges, including arrangements to facilitate money laundering. Balk and Urumov are accused of using funds from the fraud case to pay for a £19 million home in St. John’s Wood, London.

Vladimer Gersamia’s Involvement in the Otkritie Saga

An alleged $160 million international fraud that allegedly involved – albeit unintentionally – a Bahamian-domiciled investment fund and accounts at a reputable global bank have been the focus of the Supreme Court’s attention over the past four months, prompting orders to freeze assets and demand the production of documents.

Gemini Investment Fund is a company described as being based in the Bahamas. Several accounts at Clariden Leu’s Nassau branch both played critical roles in a scheme that was allegedly run by the bond office head at a significant financial services company with its headquarters in Russia, according to a batch of documents obtained by Tribune Business from the US district court in southern New York.

The court documents detail how Vladimer Gersamia, Georgy Urumov, and other alleged conspirators allegedly used exchange rates to ensure the brokerage paid four times the market price for securities linked to Argentina’s GDP. Urumov was a former employee of Otkritie Financial’s securities division in London.

Vladimer Gersamia had helped Urumov cover the traces of the fraud. Then the money the men took was transferred to numerous accounts abroad. According to the judgment from 2014, the defendants used offshore companies to launder the money generated from the fraud, which was used to purchase properties, diamonds, and cars.

More Details on Vladimer Gersamia’s Fraud

According to the Russian financial group and its lawyers, some of the $160 million overpayment proceeds were in Bahamian bank accounts. On April 6, 2011, approximately $6.9 million was transferred to an account held at Clariden Leu’s Nassau branch in the name of Templewood Capital. This business is allegedly beneficially owned by Vladimir Gersamia.

The US court documents claimed that Vladimer Gersamia controlled the Templewood account and was the company’s beneficial owner. Gersamia had claimed to his bank, Clariden Leu, that the wired cash were the profits from a property sale in Georgia. That this was a falsehood and that [Gersamia’s company] does not own any real estate in Georgia has been confirmed by representatives of Gersamia’s brother-in-law.

Afterward, according to Otkritie, about $2.5 million of that $6.9 million was repatriated to the Bahamas in a different Clariden Leu account held by a business called Airdale after being further spent. According to the court documents, Mr. Gherzi, an additional Urumov conspirator, was the beneficial owner of the automobile. The Airdale account and another Bahamas facility that belonged to a different Urumov conspirator, according to Mr. Dooley, the attorney for Otkritie, had already been frozen by the Bahamian Supreme Court.

Summary

Vladimer Gersamia was one of two City traders found guilty of planning to defraud a Russian bank of £141 million; it has become abundantly clear. Also, he had assisted Urumov in erasing the fraud’s traces. The men then moved the money they had taken to multiple foreign accounts. The 2014 ruling states that the defendants, Gersamia & Urumov, used offshore businesses to launder the scam’s proceeds, which were then used to buy homes, diamonds, and automobiles. Vladimer Gersamia was allegedly the company’s beneficial owner and in charge of the Templewood account, according to court documents from the US. Gersamia told his bank, Clariden Leu, that the funds were the proceeds from selling property in Georgia.

Frequently Asked Questions on Vladimer Gersamia 

1. Who is Vladimir Gersamia & What did he do?

Vladimir Gersamia, 33, is the beneficial owner of Templewood. He worked at Threadneedle Asset Management; a jury found him guilty of multiple fraud offenses at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, including defrauding a Russian bank of £141 million.

2. What is the connection between Vladimer Gersamia & George Urumov?

Georgy Urumov, 37, a former Otkritie banker & Vladimer are facing jail after being convicted of conspiring to defraud the Russian bank Otkritie of more than £141m in a series of complex frauds. Vladimir had assisted Urumov in erasing the fraud’s traces.

3. What happened when Vladimir Gersamia was found guilty of a £141 million fraud?

Yulia Balk, Urumov’s wife, was cleared of two counts, including conspiring to help money laundering, on January 25, 2017. Balk, Urumov, and Vladimir allegedly use a portion of the fraud. The sentences for Urumov and Gersamia are scheduled for tomorrow.