Denis Gorbunenko, a former Ukrainian banker living in London, has been linked to the fintech company Dzing, which has Russian roots and was recently sanctioned by UK authorities due to suspicions of fraud. The connection was established through a company in the UAE, which has been involved in supplying titanium raw materials to Russia. Here’s what is known so far.
The international scandal involving the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imposing sanctions on the fintech company Dzing has taken a new turn. A new name has surfaced among individuals potentially connected to the company, which could influence the ongoing investigation by British authorities. This name is Denis Gorbunenko, the former head of the scandal-plagued Rodovid Bank in Ukraine. He relocated to London after the bank’s collapse in 2009.
How Dzing’s Payment System May Be Linked to Russia and the Role of Gorbunenko, Firtash’s Representative
In the UK, Gorbunenko acted as a trustee for Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash, who was arrested in Austria in 2014 at the request of the FBI on charges of bribery related to mining licenses in India. Since 2021, Firtash has been under sanctions in Ukraine.
Earlier reports indicated that a company called Raga Establishment Limited, registered under Gorbunenko, won a lawsuit against Ukraine’s richest businessman, Rinat Akhmetov, in 2019 concerning the sale of Ukrtelecom for $700 million. Gorbunenko was also personally present at Firtash’s trial in Vienna.
Additionally, according to Ukrainian media, Gorbunenko orchestrated a scheme during a 2019 auction for the sale of claims to Kyiv’s largest shopping center, Respublika, leading to the asset being purchased at a 70% discount by Soltex Capital. The company was registered under British investment banker Robert Alan Johnson, who has ties to Gorbunenko. Johnson was chairman of the supervisory board of the scandal-ridden Ukrainian Sich Bank when the National Bank of Ukraine identified Gorbunenko as its de facto controller.
When Soltex Capital was blacklisted by Ukraine’s Anti-Monopoly Committee in 2020 due to proven collusion, Johnson decided to leave the company, and Soltex began winding down operations.
Questionable Ties of Dzing Finance Ltd
According to Bloomberg, in October 2023, the FCA imposed restrictions on Dzing Finance Ltd., a UK-registered fintech company, stating that nearly one in five payments it processed was connected to fraudulent schemes. At that time, Dzing agreed to stop accepting new retail clients or funds without the regulator’s approval.
In March 2024, even stricter restrictions were imposed on Dzing Finance Ltd., including an obligation to disclose all clients and details of any compensation they received, along with bi-monthly reports to the FCA.
Bloomberg reports that the key shareholder in Dzing is Tatiana Orlova, a Russian with a Norwegian passport and the ex-wife of Russian billionaire Vitaly Orlov. Dzing was founded and directed by another Russian, Mikhail Nadel. In 2011, Nadel was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Kyrgyz court for fraud and money laundering at Asia Universal Bank.
After settling in London and establishing Dzing, Nadel operated under the name Michael Stroganoff as an Italian resident, though he was quickly exposed. The London-based anti-corruption group Global Witness highlighted Nadel-Stroganoff’s involvement in large-scale violations, while the International Monetary Fund pointed to «extensive criminal activities» within the company. In November 2023, Nadel-Stroganoff was forced to resign as director.
Bloomberg also reported that in 2021, Dzing Finance Ltd. received a €5.3 million loan from a structure linked to Oleg Boyko, the founder of Finstar Financial Group, who is on Ukraine’s and Australia’s sanctions lists.
In addition to Nadel-Stroganoff and Orlova, there is a third party in Dzing Finance Ltd. Dekiba Trading FZE, based in the UAE, holds 2.137% of the company’s shares (the remaining 97.863% is owned by Dzing Finance Group Limited, controlled by Orlova and Nadel).
On August 1, 2024, Denis Gorbunenko’s London-based company, Union Gf UK Ltd, published its standard Confirmation Statement. The document revealed a change in shareholders—Gorbunenko’s share dropped to 90%, with 10% transferred to Dekiba Trading FZE, the same company that co-owns Dzing Finance Ltd.
Further evidence of Dekiba Trading FZE’s connection to Gorbunenko comes from a Dzing Finance Ltd. resolution dated March 2022, where a signature on behalf of Dekiba Trading FZE was made by Ukrainian Evgeny Shapka. Since 2019, Shapka has been the director of Norlandinvest, a Kyiv-based company owned on paper by Robert Alan Johnson, who is linked to Gorbunenko.
Dekiba Trading FZE is an active trader with a clear focus on the future, so much so that materials on its website, hosted in Ukraine, are dated for the year 2025.
Ilmenite shipments for sanctioned Russian companies
Publicly available data on Dekiba Trading FZE’s global operations is scarce. However, according to Trademo, in 2021, the company supplied at least two shipments of ilmenite concentrate from Africa to the Russian company LLC Kot, valued at $1.4 million.
The shipment’s country of origin was Mozambique, a country once within the sphere of interest of Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin. The cargo was likely intended either for the Krymsky Titan plant in occupied Crimea or for VSMPO-Avisma, a company controlled by the Russian state corporation Rostec, the largest titanium producer in Russia.
VSMPO-Avisma is on the U.S. sanctions list, and the titanium it produces is widely used in the manufacturing of cruise missiles, including the Kh-101 missile. As is known, Russian forces used such a missile in an attack on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital.
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