Man once known as “Putin’s banker” loses £1.3bn battle in UK high court
Vladimir Putin's former "banker" has lost a $2bn (£1.3bn) legal battle in the UK courts.
The man in question is Sergei Pugachev, a former Russian senator. Pugachev had sought to overturn a UK court order issued in July this year that froze his global assets due to a $2bn claim made against a collapsed bank he co-founded. $2bn is equivalent to 120.2bn (for now).
Pugachev co-founded Mezhprombank, which collapsed in 2010 leaving a deficit of more than $1.7bn. The Deposit Insurance Agency, a Russian body, is looking to recoup what it can, pursuing Pugachev both in the UK and Russia.
The DIA accuses Pugachev of concocting schemes to extract money from Mezhprombank in 2008, when it had already received some hefty loans from the Central Bank of Russia.
Pugachev’s lawyers had argued that his global wealth, worth an alledged $70m, was too small to be worth freezing and wouldn’t be able to clear a substantial portion of the $2bn owed. The judge disagreed.