Ambika Scheme

Vermenda was not the only foreign shell company used as a pumping station for the Probusinessbank customers’ money.

The bank’s correspondence with Otkritie Capital International Limited (OCIL), a U.K.-based investment firm, shows that Probusinessbank opened four accounts with OCIL and deposited its securities.

On November 29, 2012, OCIL issued a loan to the Cyprus-based Ambika Investments Limited.

Ambika was yet another shell company with an authorized share capital of €8,550, employing just two staff members. The company did not submit any financial reports, and its actual address did not match the registered address. Ambika had no assets or financial activity. Why would OCIL issue a loan to it? You guessed it, Probusinessbank’s securities were used as collateral for its obligations to OCIL.

Just like Vermenda, Ambika was controlled by the Probusinessbank executives. This is evidenced by the transcripts of the Central Bank meeting dated May 21, 2015, and the Trasta Komercbanka briefing we have mentioned while detailing the Vermenda withdrawal scheme.

Starting in November 2012, OCIL was lending money to Ambika. Officially, OCIL was lending the securities to Ambika, while Ambika was borrowing the money from OCIL, with those securities being used as collateral.

Probusinessbank was unconditionally liable to OCIL for Ambika’s fulfillment of its obligations, which was enshrined in the guarantee agreements dated Nov. 29, 2012, Dec. 20, 2012, and Mar. 15, 2013.

Under these agreements, Probusinessbank gave OCIL the title to all of its assets that could serve as collateral for Ambika’s liabilities. OCIL could also sell those assets and pocket the proceeds unless Ambika repaid the debt.

Those assets were not subject to withdrawal so that Ambika’s liabilities could always be secured by that collateral.

Besides, the introduction of temporary administration to Probusinessbank or delicensing would bring about an early termination to the trilateral agreements.

And that is exactly what happened.Russia’s Deposit Insurance Agency (ASV) took over the bank as its temporary administration, and in August 2015, it reached out to OCIL and requested the return of the securities. OCIL declined to recover the assets citing the collateral obligations related to Ambika and Probusinessbank.

The agreements were called off. Ambika was notified of the debt amount. OCIL sold Probusinessbank’s securities and used $213 million to recoup the debt.