London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

The Russian bank, the Bruce Willis ad and the $900m sanctions battle

The Russian bank, the Bruce Willis ad and the $900m sanctions battle

Ministers warned that millions owed after alleged fraud by ex bosses of National Bank Trust could help fund Putin’s war effort
In one of Russia’s most high-profile marketing campaigns, film star Bruce Willis appeared in cinematic advertisements with a car chase and a rooftop rescue, ending with the slogan, “Trust is just like me, but a bank.”

The campaign for National Bank Trust in 2011 – which included cardboard cutouts of Willis popping up in 400 branches across Russia – was credited with raising the bank’s profile and boosting business.

Ministers are now under pressure to impose sanctions on the bank over its efforts to recover hundreds of millions of pounds in debts from the UK.

A decade ago, money was pouring in to the bank’s coffers from clients and large chunks were sent around the world in loans for a network of offshore companies. But it was subsequently alleged that the elaborate corporate structure incorporated fake documents and was a fraudulent scheme that concealed bad debts and enriched key executives.

Willis, whose family announced earlier this year he had the neurological disorder aphasia, had no knowledge of the alleged scheme.

The high court in London ruled in January 2020 that the bank was owed $900m (£735m) compensation from three former bosses, two settled in Britain, allegedly involved in the scheme. The bank is now seeking to recover money owed in the UK, but ministers face questions on whether sanctions will stop it getting the cash.

National Bank Trust is now majority owned by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, so any money recovered in Britain could flow back to the Russian state.

Christine Jardine, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, said: “There are too many question marks around the National Bank Trust and whether it is, in fact, able to channel funds to the Putin regime.

“We need crystal-clear answers about whether it is able to raise foreign cash, that the Kremlin is so desperate for, and send it back to Russia.

“The government must reassure the British public that sanctions are being applied to all Kremlin cronies without exception, and that National Bank Trust is in no position to help Putin fund his war chest. If it is, it must be sanctioned straight away.” Jardine has tabled parliamentary questions about whether the bank will be targeted with sanctions.

The Foreign Office announced economic sanctions targeting the Russian central bank on 28 February, four days after the invasion of Ukraine. The Foreign Office would not comment on whether National Bank Trust also faces sanctions.

The bank alleges its former majority owners – Ilya Yurov, former chair of the supervisory board, Nikolay Fetisov, its former president, and Sergey Belyaev – orchestrated a fraud to conceal bad debts and extract millions of dollars in salaries and bonuses. Russia tried to extradite Yurov from the UK in 2018, but the request was refused on the grounds he would not receive a fair trial.

Steptoe & Johnson, the legal firm that acted for the bank, said an English “fixer” called Benedict Worsley ran the bank’s offshore network, allegedly hiring a team in Cyprus which was “churning out fake documents in what only can be described as a document factory”.

Yurov and Fetisov said the offshore companies were properly used for “balance sheet management”, while Belyaev, who settled in the US, denied knowledge of the scheme. Worsley, who was not called to give evidence at the hearing but was described as a man who “likes to act like James Bond”, has said all decisions involving corporate administration were made by the bank’s owners or managers. The bank collapsed in December 2014 and required a state-backed bailout of more than 100bn rubles (£1.2bn).

The high court heard in 2018 that Yurov’s family properties, held in the name of his wife, Nataliya, included Oxney Court, a gothic manor house with a swimming pool and tennis court on the Kent coast bought for £4.1m in 2012; two properties in Cyprus; and three flats in Chelsea with a combined value of over £6m. The Fetisov family portfolio included a £4.25m mansion in Oxshott, Surrey; a £1.6m flat in Chelsea; and a residence near Moscow.

Mazars, the international accounting and advisory firm, announced in May 2020 that it was working as joint trustees in the bankruptcy of Yurov and Fetisov. It recently filed court applications to obtain bank statements linked to the case.

The firm was appointed by the business secretary on behalf of the high court and is seeking to recover the bankrupts’ assets for the benefit of creditors, including National Bank Trust.

Mazars said it complied with all sanctions and no transactions would occur with sanctioned entities or their subsidiaries without court permission. National Bank Trust did not respond to a request for comment.

UK officials say they are systematically sanctioning Russian individuals and organisations, but will not comment on specific cases. One official said: ‘“While he [Putin] continues this war, we will continue tightening the ratchet with further sanctions.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×