Asia Universal Bank

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AsiaUniversalBank
TypeJoint Stock Company
IndustryBanking
Founded1997
HeadquartersBishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Key people
, CEO

Bob Dole, Director Bennett Johnston, Director Michael Mered (Russian: Майкл Меред), Director and former Kyrgyz IMF representative

Michael Fox-Rabinovich, Lev Grozhonko, Robert Genkin, Evgeny Gurevich, Rustam Akzholov, Andrei Galitsky, Alexandra Katrin, Aleksey Eliseev
ProductsFinancial services
Websitewww.aub.com www.aub.kg

Now dissolved, Asia Universal Bank (AUB) was the largest commercial bank in Kyrgyzstan, holding about a quarter of the combined assets and deposits reported by the entire Kyrgyz banking system. The bank was highly regarded internationally, and received a number of awards, from organizations such as The Banker, Global Finance, The Asian Banker and Euromoney, but subsequently fell from grace.

Operations[]

Originally focused on corporate banking, AUB had actively expanded into retail banking and was the fastest growing mortgage provider in the country. At the time of its existence AUB was the only company in the country to have received an international credit rating. However, following the fall of the Bakiyev regime the bank was nationalised following a wide scale money laundering scandal.

AUB operated 90 branches in the Kyrgyz Republic and had representative offices in Riga, Latvia, which opened in 2002, Kyiv, Ukraine and Almaty, Kazakhstan.[1][2][3][4][5][page needed]

History[]

On 22 August 1997, the International Business Bank was established with a branch in Kyrgyzstan which became the AsiaUniversalBank (AUB) in 2000.[6]

For $150,000 in 1999, Mikhael Nadel (Russian: Михаэль Надель), a Russian businessman, purchased from a Western Samoan bank known as the International Business Bank its Kyrgyz subsidiary and renamed it Asia Universal Bank in 2000.[7][5]: 45 

Through accounts at AUB, very large sums were allegedly money laundered in a scheme involving Maxim Bakiyev, son of the former Kyrgyzstan president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, while the younger Bakiyev was chairman of the board of directors at the Kyrgyz Development Fund.[8][5][page needed]

In 2006, Central Bank of Russia declared AsiaUniversalBank as undesirable.[7]

According the Party of Regions' accounting book (Ukrainian: "амбарну книга"), Paul Manafort, who after the Orange Revolution provided strong support to Viktor Yanukovych, received funds in his Wachovia bank account in Virginia from the Party of Regions via the Belize based Neocom Systems Limited's AUB account on 14 October 2009.[9][10][11][12] On 30 July 2014, Manafort was questioned by the FBI about his Wachovia bank account and his relationship with Neocom Systems which he had never heard of Neocom.[13][14]

After the 7 April 2010 revolution, AUB was declared insolvent in October 2010, nationalized, and broken up.[10][5]: 11 [a]

In April 2011, Mikhail Nadel was found guilty of numerous crimes including money laundering in absentia by a Kyrgyz court.[5]: 15 

Notes[]

  1. ^ In February 2009, Kurmanbek Bakiyev with support from Konstantin Kilimnik and Paul Manafort decided to close the United States airbase at Manas.[15][16]

References[]

  1. ^ "Correspondent bank network". AUB.kg website. February 2008. Archived from the original on 4 February 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  2. ^ "История АзияУниверсалБанка" [History of AsiaUniversalBank]. AUB.kg website (in Russian). December 2008. Archived from the original on 26 December 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Офисы Банка в других странах" [Bank offices in other countries]. AUB.kg website (in Russian). February 2009. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Филиальная сеть" [Branch network]. AUB.kg website (in Russian). April 2009. Archived from the original on 18 April 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Grave Secrecy: How a Dead Man Can Own a UK Company and Other Hair-raising Stories About Hidden Company Ownership From Kyrgyzstan and Beyond" (PDF). Global Witness. June 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  6. ^ "The history of AsiaUniversalBank". AUB.kg website. February 2008. Archived from the original on 4 February 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  7. ^ a b Вокруг Новости staff (1 September 2009). "Младший сын президента Бакиева Максим и его друзья из MGN Group осуществили финансовый захват Киргизии" [The youngest son of President Bakiev Maxim and his friends from MGN Group carried out the financial seizure of Kyrgyzstan]. ПрессНаз.ру (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 September 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2021 – via "Вокруг новостей" (Vokrug Novosti) (vokruginfo.ru). Archived from pressnaz.ru on 7 September 2009. Archived at compromat.ru on 1 September 2009.
  8. ^ Bakiyev's son suspected of Russian loan embezzlement
  9. ^ Trilling, David; Tynan, Deirdre (3 February 2009). "Kyrgyzstan: President Bakiyev Wants to Close US Military Base Outside Bishkek". Eurasianet (Eurasianet.org). Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  10. ^ a b Rickleton, Chris (23 August 2018). "What was Manafort actually doing in Kyrgyzstan? The U.S. lobbyist was allegedly trying in 2005 to plead with Bishkek to close a US airbase". Eurasianet (Eurasianet.org). Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  11. ^ Лещенко, Сергій (Leshchenko, Serhiy) (21 March 2017). "Манафорт і Янукович відмивали гроші через Киргизстан" [Manafort and Yanukovych laundered money through Kyrgyzstan]. Українська правда (Pravda.ua) (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  12. ^ Gillum, Jack; Day, Chad; Horwitz, Jeff (12 April 2017). "AP Exclusive: Manafort firm received Ukraine ledger payout". Associated Press. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Interview of Paul Manafort" (PDF). FBI. 2 September 2014. p. 5. Retrieved 11 August 2021 – via Justthenews.com.
  14. ^ Horwitz, Jeff; Danilova, Maria (2 July 2018). "Russian charged with Trump's ex-campaign chief is key figure". boston.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  15. ^ Proekt team (22 August 2018). "The Absolute Soviet Man. A Portrait of Konstantin Kilimnik, Russian patriot and Paul Manafort's buddy". Проект. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  16. ^ Barry, Ellen; Schwirtz, Michael (3 February 2009). "Kyrgyzstan Says It Will Close U.S. Base". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2021.

External links[]


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