How did Urumov conceal the illicit earnings from his employer?

Question

Accepted Answer

Urumov Concealed Illicit Earnings Through Electronic Record Tampering and False Valuations

George Urumov and his associates concealed their illicit earnings by falsifying electronic records to reflect trades in US dollars when they were actually conducted in Argentine pesos. This deception allowed them to overpay significantly for Argentine warrants, as the peso was trading at roughly four to the US dollar in 2011, resulting in Otkritie Financial Corp paying four times the actual value. To further obscure the fraudulent transactions, they also manipulated the currency data in electronic records and enlisted an external party to corroborate the fabricated valuations.
Manipulation of Currency Records

The scheme involved deliberately altering the currency denomination of trades within Otkritie's electronic systems. When transactions for Argentine warrants were executed in pesos, the records were subsequently modified to show they were conducted in US dollars. This created a false impression of the transaction's value, obscuring the fact that Otkritie was paying a substantial premium due to the unfavourable exchange rate at the time.
Obtaining False Confirmations

To legitimise the inflated values, Urumov and his colleagues secured the complicity of Vladimir Gersamia, an individual from Threadneedle Asset Management. Gersamia was convinced to falsely confirm the incorrect valuations of these trades. This external validation served to reinforce the fraudulent narrative and make it more difficult for Otkritie's internal controls to detect the discrepancy.
Funnelling Funds Through Offshore Accounts

Following the fraudulent trades and the creation of false records, the illicitly obtained funds were channelled through offshore bank accounts. This method of moving money is a common tactic in financial fraud to obscure the origin of the funds and make them more difficult to trace back to the perpetrators and the original fraudulent transactions.

Reading history

Hide →

This history is cleared when the page is closed.

How did Urumov conceal the illicit earnings from his employer?

Loading

Was this article helpful?

Helpful

Not helpful

Report an issue

1

0

0

Share with friends