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How Israeli microfinanciers from London and Barcelona earn billions from poor Russians

30-12-2022

Residents of Russia owe 6.7 billion rubles to MoneyMan, which is backed by foreign owners

credit trap

On New Year's Eve, Anton from the Kuban is overwhelmed by the collectors of the microfinance company MoneyMan. He borrowed 30,000 rubles, gave back 50,000, but owed another 100,000. That's some tricky math.

Couldn't close on time due to problems at work. To prevent collectors from calling my old people and turning on the meter, I prolonged the loan many times. The cost of one prolongation for a week is 2100 rubles. Then he began to hide. Now I owe them a hundred thousand, my bank account is about to be frozen in favor of MoneyMan by the decision of the justice of the peace, -Anton is sad.

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MoneyMan's symbol is a superman in a green suit like a dollarMoneyMan's symbol is a superman in a green suit like a dollar

In total, the Russians owe MoneyMan 6.7 billion rubles. This is the fifth place in the ranking of Russian microfinance organizations in terms of the total size of the microloan portfolio ( the body of debt, taking into account overdue debts. - Approx. Life ) as of January 1, 2022. MoneyMan was the first in Russia to start lending online.

The company is 100% owned by a Cyprus offshore company. It is part of the Spanish holding ID Finance headquartered in Barcelona. Dividends from income are paid to Western investors, for whom there is even an advertising presentation to invest more.

While the Russians are drowning in debt, the creators of ID Finance are getting richer - an Israeli citizen living in Catalonia, Boris Batin and a London resident Alexander Dunaev . Both lived and studied in Britain as children. Both are donors to the Children's Trust, which is famous for handing out £250 worth of vouchers to young Britons to teach them financial literacy.

Money Man founders Alexander Dunaev (left) and Boris Batin (right)Money Man founders Alexander Dunaev (left) and Boris Batin (right)

Now Batin and Dunaev are actively giving interviews to the world media, positioning themselves as a kind of Mark Zuckerberg from fintech - this is when high technologies are used to improve the financial industry.

Son of a builder and banker from Barcelona

Boris Batin, 39, is a Cambridge graduate and fashionista with Cartier cufflinks. His career developed at lightning speed: at the age of 20 he was already a partner of Deutsche Bank, at 23 he was vice president of Renaissance Bank, at 27 he took a similar position in the Moscow branch of Royal Bank of Scotland. Judging by his social networks, he devotes most of his time to sports and outdoor activities. Boris was a member of a closed student rowing club in Cambridge, ran a marathon in the Sahara desert, crossed New Zealand and the USA on a bicycle. Boris looks more like a college sports team captain from a Hollywood movie than a banker.

Boris Batin on vacationBoris Batin on vacation

In 2009–2010, Boris Batin was listed as the manager of the London-based venture Baks Capital Llp . In the statutory documents, he was designated as a resident of the capital of England with the address 25 Marathon House, 200 Marylebone Road. This is a business-class residential complex near Regent's Park and the West End, where a one-bedroom apartment costs about a million pounds.

Residential complex in London, where the co-founder of MoneyMan was registeredResidential complex in London, where the co-founder of MoneyMan was registered
LobbyLobby
Interior examplesInterior examples

On his page on the business social network LinkedIn, Batin indicates that he lives in Barcelona. According to the Spanish commercial register, he has two financial companies in Catalonia and another real estate company that sells apartments in Buenos Aires, Brazil, for up to $260,000. Probably Batin occupies an apartment in a new building in Barcelona with a rooftop pool. Location: second line from the Mediterranean Sea on Avenida d'Eduard Maristany. The cost of such real estate is about one million euros.

View of the Barcelona new buildingView of the Barcelona new building
Rooftop poolRooftop pool

In numerous Spanish articles about Batin, journalists refer to him as an Israeli.

Boris Batin carefully hides who his parents are: there is no information in open sources. Life found out their identity. His mother, Galina Batina , is an ex-employee of the Informprogress Commercial Bank for the Promotion of Trade and Supply, which went bankrupt and lost its license due to violations of the law. Since the eighties, she lived on Kutuzovsky Prospekt in the historic house of KGB officers, along with a certain Alexander Libman. He is the father of Boris Batin, he is a major Moscow builder.

Boris Batin could have had real estate in his homeland. Behind him were a dvushka and a treshka with a total value of about 70 million rubles in stalinkas on Kutuzovsky Prospekt.

Stalinka, where Batin lived, on Kutuzovsky ProspektStalinka, where Batin lived, on Kutuzovsky Prospekt
Another Stalinka, where Batin lived, on Kutuzovsky ProspektAnother Stalinka, where Batin lived, on Kutuzovsky Prospekt

Boris Batin was issued 30 acres of land, on which there is a luxurious mansion with an area of ​​​​651 square meters, in the elite village of Antonovka near Moscow. Such real estate will pull on 200 million rubles.

The suburban village "Antonovka"The suburban village "Antonovka"

Also, 34 acres were decorated on Batina, where a slightly less fashionable cottage is located, in the village of "Forest Lake" in the Trinity District of Moscow. Approximate price up to 120 million rubles.

One of these cottages may belong to Boris BatinOne of these cottages may belong to Boris Batin

What is the other co-owner of MoneyMan known for?

The second founder of MoneyMan is 35-year-old Alexander Dunaev . As a child, he starred in "Yeralash". In his youth, he studied at London's Imperial College. At 20, he got a job as an analyst at Renaissance Bank, at 22, as a partner at Deutsche Bank.

Alexander DunaevAlexander Dunaev

From 2012–2016, Alexey Dunaev managed the London-based firm Bering Strait Partners . The articles of incorporation indicated that he was a UK resident living with his wife at 64 Pimlico Apartments, 60 Vauxhall Bridge Road. This is a premium home where apartments can cost upwards of a million pounds.

house viewhouse view
View from the windowView from the window
Interior exampleInterior example

In networking networks, the Dunaev couple reports that they live in Barcelona. Perhaps in the same new building as Boris Batin. Dunaev's relatives are torn between Israel and London.

The Dunaevs may have real estate in Russia. The young man is registered on the Leningradskoye Highway in a three-ruble note of Stalinka worth about 33 million rubles.

Possible real estate Dunaev on the Leningrad highwayPossible real estate Dunaev on the Leningrad highway

Also, Alexander Dunaev, the creator of MoneyMan, lived in a mansion on Tamanskaya Street in the respectable Serebryany Bor, a green island, a natural monument in the north-west of Moscow. Such real estate will cost about half a billion rubles.

Tamanskaya Street, Serebryany BorTamanskaya Street, Serebryany Bor
Why collectors and MFIs with foreign roots may lose earnings

At the beginning of the year , it was reported that the Federal Bailiff Service began to freeze any recovery in favor of a number of MFIs and collection agencies with foreign roots. According to insiders, the FSSP perceived such organizations as non-residents and was guided by Russia's response to the sanctions of Western states.

MoneyMan collectors from ID Collect were also on the list. By the way, according to the SPARK database, its revenue last year reached 2.4 billion rubles.

Collectors are not resigned to this situation. Sharp dissatisfaction with the situation was expressed by the National Association of Professional Collection Agencies (NAPCA). "Our rights as collectors are being violated," its representatives said. It is not known how things are going with the penalties now. Judging by the increased number of complaints against collectors of microfinance organizations, the tacit ban could have already been lifted.