Russia-linked banker accused of using Edinburgh firms to help Putin's war in Ukraine

Anselm Oskar Schmuki
-Credit: (Image: Sunday Mail)


A Swiss banker has been accused of using three Edinburgh-based companies to help Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.

Anselm Oskar Schmuki has been added to a major trade blacklist by the US Government and three firms, registered to Queen Street, have been added to America's foreign assets control database.

The move was made in an effort to "degrade Russia's ability to acquire the items it needs to sustain its military aggression," reports our sister title the Sunday Mail.

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Kraverton LP, Welmart Group LP and Saling Development LP are all Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLPs) based at the same address although they appear to be inactive. However, an expert has warned although the firms appear dormant, they may be reactivated at any time to funnel money to Moscow.

Money laundering and financial crime expert Graham Barrow said: "There is nothing to stop these partnerships from being resuscitated at any time in the future and for Mr Schmucki to resume economic activity behind their facade."

Schmucki is the former head of the Russian office of DuLac capital - a Swiss asset management firm - although management claim he resigned from the role in late 2022.

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The firms he controls in Edinburgh have no online presence and were set up on May 24 and 25, 2016. Company records show they're all registered to Suite 1, 4 Queen Street, Edinburgh - which is also listed as the HQ of 428 other companies.

Schmucki has also been added to the UK's sanctions list with the UK government stating: "He is or has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia by carrying on business in a sector of strategic significance, namely the Russian Financial Services Sector."

Barrow said dozens of other SLPs owned by Russians or other Soviet Union citizens were set up on the same two dates as Schmucki's and are favoured by those who want to hide what they're doing.

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He said: "Scottish Limited Partnerships have traditionally been set up by company service providers on behalf of underlying beneficial owners. It's not uncommon to see many of these companies being set up on the same day at the same address.

"They're popular with those who wish to hide what they are up to as the reporting requirements are minimal and they do not include the need to file accounts or disclose the location of their owners or partners. Even the minimal information which is provided is not subject to any form of verification.

"There's little ongoing interrogation of the data so whilst the three SLPs linked to Mr Schmucki are all currently dissolved, there is nothing to stop these partnerships from being resuscitated in the future and for Mr Schmuki to resume economic activity behind their facade.

"Even though their use has subsided somewhat in recent years they were very popular with members of the elite from most of the former Soviet states for exactly those reasons."

Lanarkshire firm Nero Drinks is also included on the blacklist due to its owners' links to the Kinahan crime gang. Glasgow mum Nicola Morrissey owns the firm, which produces vodka, with her husband Johnny Morrisey acting as a brand ambassador

The US Treasury previously said: "John Morrissey, who outwardly serves as the Nero Drinks' brand ambassador, is heavily invested in Nero Drinks and has given a significant portion of the business to Daniel Kinahan to compensate for loads of drugs seized by law enforcement. John Morrissey controls and operates Nero Drinks through his wife, the primary shareholder, who is used as a frontperson for his interests."