Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Oct 07, 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

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
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
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
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
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
×