In London, judicial authorities have confirmed the arrest of Chinese citizen Zhimin Qian (also known as Yadi Zhang), who pleaded guilty to cryptocurrency transactions linked to large-scale fraud.
According to British investigators, Qian ran a financial scheme in China between 2014 and 2017, involving approximately 128,000 victims. She converted the money she received into bitcoins and attempted to launder it through transactions in the UK.
During a search of a house in north London, 61,000 bitcoins were seized, which at the time of the investigation were valued at over £5 billion. This seizure is considered one of the largest in the history of crypto crimes.
Qian pleaded guilty to charges related to the illegal possession, acquisition, and laundering of crypto assets. Her extradition and final sentence are expected later.
This case is significant not only for British law enforcement in the field of cryptocurrencies, but also for global law enforcement cooperation in combating transnational money laundering schemes involving digital assets.
State-owned Ukreximbank (Kyiv) is closing its representative offices in the United Kingdom and the United States to optimize operating costs, the issuer said in a statement in the disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC).
According to it, the above decisions were made by the supervisory board of the state-owned bank on August 30, 2024.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), as of July 1, 2024, Ukreximbank ranked 3rd (UAH 287.18 billion) in terms of total assets among 62 banks in the country.
The net profit of the financial institution in 2023 amounted to UAH 3.25 billion.
A convoy of 20 cars donated by London under the Ulez program for the disposal of vehicles that do not meet emission standards has arrived in Ukraine, The Guardian reports.
“More than 100 cars have been donated to Ukraine under the Ulez program since it was authorized on March 15, of which about half have been delivered so far,” the newspaper writes on Tuesday.
It is reported that the British-Ukrainian organization (BUAID), which manages the scheme in conjunction with Transport for London (TfL), has sent 13 more vehicles to Ukraine for medical and humanitarian purposes.
ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) is an ultra-low emission zone that was introduced in London in 2020. The goal of the program is to reduce the level of harmful emissions into the city’s atmosphere, improve air quality for Londoners and visitors, and promote the transition to more environmentally friendly transportation.
In March of this year, the program began assembling cars for transfer to Ukraine. The vehicles are intended to support the humanitarian and medical needs of the country.
The Ulez zone was expanded by London Mayor Sadiq Khan in August 2023 and now covers the entire capital, making it the world’s largest pollution charge zone. People who drive a car in the zone that does not meet minimum emission standards must pay £12.50 per day.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/21/ulez-scrappage-scheme-vehicles-ukraine
Nova Poshta has opened a Nova Post postal and cargo office in London and launched courier delivery in the UK, the company’s press service said on Monday.
“Today we are celebrating the official start of work in the UK market. Along with the opening of branches, we have also launched courier delivery,” said Vyacheslav Klimov, co-owner of NOVA Group.
In its consolidated annual report for 2023, Nova Poshta indicated that in March 2023, UK Novapay LTD (London) was established. The company’s contribution at the time of establishment amounted to UAH 13.7 million, and additional contributions to the authorized capital during 2023 amounted to UAH 26.21 million. According to reports, Nova Poshta’s share in UK Novapay LTD was 75% at the end of last year.
According to Klymov, in the near future, Nova Poshta customers will also be able to send and receive parcels through the network of post offices of the company’s partner InPost.
According to the company’s press release, Nova Post’s post office in London accepts parcels up to 30 kg, while the freight office accepts parcels up to 1,000 kg.
The cost of delivery from Ukraine to the UK is UAH 900 for documents, UAH 950, UAH 1.5 thousand and UAH 2.5 thousand for parcels up to 2 kg, 10 kg and 30 kg, respectively.
In addition, customers can order delivery of parcels up to 100 kg by courier to any address in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. For parcels up to 30 kg, customers will have to pay an additional UAH 100, and for every 100 kg of parcel, UAH 250.
“Nova Poshta currently has more than 35,000 points of service for sending and receiving parcels in Europe, of which 90 are Nova Post’s own branches in 13 countries: Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Italy, Hungary, Moldova, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
As reported, on April 30, Nova Poshta opened the first Nova Post office in Spain.
New York has once again taken the top spot in the list of the world’s largest financial centers, according to a survey by Z/Yen Group Ltd. financial advisory company, which calculates the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI).
New York has been in the lead since the fall of 2018. Compared to the previous version of the ranking, published in September last year, New York’s score increased to 764 from 763, and London’s, which ranks second, to 747 from 744.
The top three leaders are still Singapore with 742 points, followed by Hong Kong in fourth place and San Francisco in fifth. Shanghai moved up to sixth place, Geneva to seventh, while Los Angeles slipped two positions to eighth. Chicago retained its ninth place, while Seoul moved up to tenth, displacing Washington.
The most significant rise in the ranking was demonstrated by São Paulo (up 21 places) and Wellington (up 15), while Miami (down 14 places) and Helsinki (down 12 places) showed the sharpest drops.
Among the financial centers of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Astana is in the lead (66th place).
The World Financial Centers Index was first published in 2007 and is updated every six months (the current edition is the 35th). The latest ranking was based on a survey of nearly 8.5 thousand respondents.
The !Fest holding is preparing to open a new bar called Drunken Cherry in London, England.
The holding has created a profile of the new bar on Intagram, where it has posted two posts: an advertisement against the backdrop of the Tower Bridge, as well as the terms of the competition to attend the opening of the bar.
According to specialized media, the staff and team of the London bar will consist mainly of Ukrainians who speak English well and “have in-depth knowledge of cherries.”
The UK will be the tenth country to open P’yana Vyshnia establishments, and London will be the fortieth city to launch the chain. P’yana Vyshnia also operates in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and the Baltic States.
Emotions Holding !Fest was founded in 2007. It develops a network of creative restaurants, cafes and shops in Ukraine. It is owned by Andriy Khudo, Yuriy Nazaruk and Dmitry Gerasimov.
