Asia Universal Bank (AUB) was a Kyrgyz commercial bank, which held about a quarter of the combined assets and deposits reported by the entire Kyrgyz banking system. The

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

was highly regarded internationally, and received a number of awards, from organizations such as ''

The Banker ''The Banker'' is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by '' The Financial Times'' and edited in London, United Kingdom. The magazine was first published in January 1926 through founding editor Brendan ...

'', '' Global Finance'',

The Asian Banker The Asian Banker is a company that provides information for the financial services industry in the form of publications, online materials such as e-newsletters, research, and conventions, and other industry gatherings. It is regarded as one of ...

and ''

Euromoney ''Euromoney'' is an English-language monthly magazine focused on business and finance. First published in 1969, it is the flagship production of Euromoney Institutional Investor plc. History and profile ''Euromoney'' was first published in 19 ...

'', but subsequently fell from grace.

Operations

Originally focused on corporate banking, AUB had actively expanded into retail banking and was the fastest growing mortgage provider in the country. At the time of its existence AUB was the only company in the country to have received an international credit rating. However, following the fall of the Bakiyev regime the bank was nationalised following a wide scale money laundering scandal. AUB operated 90 branches in the Kyrgyz Republic and had representative offices in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, which opened in 2002,

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

History

On 22 August 1997, the ''International Business Bank'' was established with a branch in Kyrgyzstan which became the AsiaUniversalBank (AUB) in 2000. For $150,000 in 1999, Mikhael Nadel (), a Russian businessman, purchased from a Western Samoan bank known as the ''International Business Bank'' its Kyrgyz subsidiary and renamed it Asia Universal Bank in 2000.Archived
from pressnaz.ru on 7 September 2009

at compromat.ru on 1 September 2009. Prior to beginning his operations in Kyrgyzstan, Nadal had similar operations in independent

. Through accounts at AUB, very large sums were allegedly money laundered in a scheme involving Maxim Bakiyev, son of the former

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Kurmanbek Bakiyev Kurmanbek Sali uulu Bakiyev (born 1 August 1949) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the second president of Kyrgyzstan from 2005 until his removal from office as a result of the Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010, forcing Bakiyev to flee the coun ...

, while the younger Bakiyev was chairman of the board of directors at the Kyrgyz Development Fund. In 2006,

Central Bank of Russia The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (), commonly known as the Bank of Russia (), also called the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), is the central bank of the Russia, Russian Federation. The bank was established on 13 July 1990. It traces its ...

declared AsiaUniversalBank as undesirable. According the

Party of Regions A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

' accounting book (),

Paul Manafort Paul John Manafort Jr. (; born April 1, 1949) is an American former lobbyist, political consultant, and attorney. A long-time Republican Party campaign consultant, he chaired the Trump presidential campaign from June to August 2016. Manafo ...

, who after the

Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution () was a series of protests that led to political upheaval in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005. It gained momentum primarily due to the initiative of the general population, sparked by the aftermath of the ...

provided strong support to

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...

, received funds in his

Wachovia Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asset ...

bank account in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

from the Party of Regions via the

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

based Neocom Systems Limited's AUB account on 14 October 2009. On 30 July 2014, Manafort was questioned by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

about his Wachovia bank account and his relationship with Neocom Systems which he stated that he had never heard of Neocom. After the 2010 Kyrgyz Revolution, AUB was declared insolvent in October 2010, nationalized, and broken up. In April 2011, Mikhail Nadel was found guilty of numerous crimes including money laundering in absentia by a Kyrgyz court.

Operations

History

Notes

References

External links