A1, the asset recovery arm of Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group, has launched a “Rewards for Information” campaign in London in an effort to recover GBP2.5bn that it claims was stolen from Russian retail bank Vneshprombank.

“A bounty hunt has been launched in London for information on the whereabouts of assets held by Russian fugitive Georgy Bedzhamov, allegedly responsible for defrauding a major Russian retail bank of GBP 2.5bn,” A1 said in a press release.

A billboard mounted on the back of a truck bearing photos of Russian tycoon Bedzhamov and offering a reward for any member of the public who comes forward with information are being driven around the more salubrious parts of London.

Vneshprombank was one of a string of so-called Garden Ring banks that went bust in the autumn of 2017 and nearly sparked a systemic meltdown of the financial system.

As bne IntelliNews reported in 2017 “Russia’s great daylight bank robbery”, Russia’s banking sector has been plagued by owners helping themselves to depositors’ money by making loans to themselves.

In that year the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) had to step in and spent RUB458.3bn ($7.4bn) to bail out bust commercial banks.  Vneshprombank folded late in 2015 and was the fourth most expensive rescue, costing the CBR RUB215.9bn ($3.6bn at average 2015 exchange rates) to fill the hole its owners left in its balance sheet.

The former CEO of Vneshprombank Larisa Markus was  sentenced to nine years in jail by a Moscow court in 2017 for extracting about RUB113.5bn, in what has become the biggest case of banking fraud in the country. Markus pleaded guilty, which was received by the court as an extenuating circumstance. Her brother and co-owner of the bank Bedzhamov was arrested in Monaco in April in 2016, but was not extradited to Russia and was later released before he moved to London where he has reportedly been ever since.

“Londongrad” has become a popular bolthole for many of Russia’s most controversial bankers and businessmen, who are on the run from the Kremlin.

Banker Sergei Pugachev was the owner of MezhPromBank (International Industrial Bank) and a Kremlin insider until his bank got into trouble and he skipped town for London shortly after being given a $1bn bailout by the central bank. Likewise, Andrei Borodin fled to London leaving a $9bn hole in the balance sheet of his Bank of Moscow that lead to the biggest bailout of a Russian bank ever. He bought a GBP140mn Berkshire mansion in Henley, which at the time was the most expensive house in the country, where he lives with his former model wife. These fugitives ask for political asylum claiming they are being politically persecuted by the Kremlin or they apply for the so-called golden visas which are issued in exchange for significant investments into the UK.

A1 specialises in buying distressed assets and bad debts and then extracting anything of worth. “We never lose even if that means we lose money on the deal,” an A1 executive previously told bne IntelliNews in an interview in Moscow.

A1 has already uncovered a number of Bedzhamov's assets in London, including a luxurious $45mn house in Belgrave square, but believe there are more to be found. To uncover the details A1 is now appealing to the general public to come forward with any information and are offering a reward.

The London High Court has already frozen GBP1.34bn worth of Bedzhamov’s assets in London and Europe, but the courts granted him a generous living allowance of GBP80,000 per month, which he recently managed to persuade a court to increase to GBP161,000 to cover “rent, medical expenses, school fees and security teams in London and Monaco.” A1 claim that Bedzhamov is living in the Knightsbridge or Chelsea districts in London.

A1 this week launched a publicity campaign, placing “Rewards for Information” adverts in the Evening Standard and CITY A.M. newspapers as well as driving a truck with Bedzhamov’s face on it, around central London past properties he is believed to own.

Andrei Elinson, managing partner of A1, told the Daily Mail: "London is no longer a safe haven for individuals seeking to hide stolen assets."