Trust Asset Management: Fraud?

Trust asset management. Company without a license. Fraud. Damage. Effects.

The co-founders of Shumakov and Partners LLC Denis Shumakov and Georgy Ganz were detained by the GUEBiPK Ministry of Internal Affairs at intervals of several days in their townhouses in elite cottage villages near Moscow.

Investigative and operational actions took place within the framework of a criminal case initiated by the ICR on the fact of a particularly large-scale fraud (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). After a search of the houses, similar events were held at the company's office in Moscow City. Documents, electronic media, client bases, as well as manuals were seized there, where it was prescribed how to behave in the event of a visit by law enforcement officers, Kommersant writes.

Denis Shumakov, a former senior financial adviser at the investment company QB Finance, started his business in 2016 by registering Ecofinance Capital LLC together with his business partner Georgy Gants. In March 2017, they changed the name of the company to Shumakov and Partners and at the same time began to actively attract customers.

At the same time, on the website of a company operating without a license, one could see a rate of 40%. The lack of a license in the company was explained by the fact that their activities are carried out not on the territory of Russia, but in the economic space of the United States, and he argued that the accounts of their clients are insured against any infrastructural risks in the amount of up to 500 thousand dollars.

Often, alleged scammers called clients shortly after they deposited a large amount of money: the scammers claimed that they would not be able to receive dividends from the bank, and offered to invest between 50 thousand and 300 thousand dollars in their scheme. Mechanism on the example of invested 1 thousand dollars. Quickly making a profit, the client agreed to invest a large amount in investments by entering into a trust management agreement. After that, none of the depositors received either interest on deposits or the money itself under the pretext of sanctions against Russia or an unexpected collapse of the financial market. Moreover, when victims were shown fake electronic reports of allegedly successful transactions, some of them also agreed to additional investments.

At the moment, about 50 victims have been identified, and the amount of damage caused is more than 300 million rubles. However, according to the participants in the investigation, in the very near future, these numbers may increase significantly.

In addition, in June last year, Shumakov and Partners again changed the registration and name of their company. Almost before their arrest, they lived under the sign of Severny Kapital LLC on the 25th floor of the Federation Tower, which was also reportedly visited by law enforcement officers.

Now the investigation is checking where exactly the stolen money went. According to some reports, some of them ended up offshore, and the rest of the alleged scammers spent on personal needs, living in style and not denying themselves anything.

At the request of the investigation, the organizers of the investment boutique Denis Shumakov and Georgy Gants sent the Chertanovsky District Court of Moscow to a pre-trial detention center. Presumably, they have already admitted their guilt in fraud.

Stanislav Lastovsky, a lawyer at Vetrov & Partners, comments on the current situation as follows:
Finding a balance between your own greed and the desire to receive additional high income is difficult. Naturally, in such situations there are factors that indicate the risky nature of transactions. For example, doing business in another jurisdiction, the presence of "insurance", higher rates, lack of collateral for transactions, significant amounts of transactions.

It is possible that not every layman can understand, being inside the situations themselves, that there is no trust management here and close. Therefore, it is worth contacting third-party consulting companies that will help you correctly assess the risks, take measures to minimize or reduce them. Let's say you could contact us.

Unfortunately, now it remains for the most part to sympathize with the victims, as there is an assumption that it will be very, very difficult to return the funds. Although it is possible to assess the risks of a return in detail by taking a closer look at the circumstances of the situation for each specific investor.

We will be happy to provide you with legal assistance regarding the minimization of legal risks and available opportunities. We will try to find a solution that is right for you.

Call +7 (383) 310-38-76 or write to info@vitvet.com.

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