Shady Visa Scheme: UK Regulator Bans 3 Former Dolfin Financial Chiefs
- The Financial Conduct Authority moved against three former senior figures at Dolfin Financial over a scheme that helped clients bypass UK visa investment rules
- The scheme reportedly ran between 2016 and 2019 and allowed at least 99 individuals to obtain investor visas, generating over £35.5m in fees
- Former Dolfin CEO Denisz Nagy received a £324,800 fine while former finance director Sanjay Maraj was fined £122,000 alongside the bans
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Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeole Yusuf has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
London, United Kingdom - The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Wednesday, August 26, announced the ban of three former senior figures at Dolfin Financial (UK) Limited.
The regulator found that they orchestrated a scheme that helped clients fraudulently obtain UK investor visas.
Source: Facebook
Former chief executive Denisz Nagy has been fined £324,800 and former finance director Sanjay Maraj £122,000.
Both men have also been barred from working in financial services. Dolfin co-founder Roman Joukovski has equally been banned from the industry, though the FCA announcement did not include a financial penalty for him.
How the Dolfin Visa Scheme Worked
Between 2016 and 2019, the scheme allowed clients to pay a £400,000 fee rather than invest the £2 million of their own money in UK companies that Home Office investor visa rules required. The FCA concluded the arrangement was deliberately structured to create a false appearance that visa conditions had been satisfied.
At least 99 individuals obtained investor visas through the scheme, which generated no less than £35.5 million in fees for Dolfin-connected businesses and the immigration agents who brought clients to them.
The regulator found that Nagy and Joukovski played leading roles in building and running the scheme, while Maraj handled its financial operations after it was established. Nagy and Maraj also actively hid the true nature of the arrangement from both the FCA and the Home Office, the regulator said.
Joukovski faced additional findings: the FCA said he concealed his involvement with Dolfin from the regulator entirely, acted as a shadow director of the firm without FCA approval, and held a controlling interest in Dolfin without notifying the regulator.
Source: Twitter
FCA Warns on Integrity in Financial Services
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, made clear the regulator would not tolerate such conduct.
"Integrity is not optional in financial services. These individuals ran a scheme designed to get around the UK's investor visa rules, undermining their purpose of attracting genuine investment into the UK. They then sought to hide how it operated. We will continue to act against those who lack integrity and undermine trust in UK financial services," Chambers said.
The case is among a series of enforcement actions the FCA has pursued against individuals found to have misled the regulator or exploited financial services structures for non-financial ends.
UK High Commission Alerts Nigerians
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the British High Commission in Nigeria urged Nigerians who have applied for UK student visas to monitor their email inboxes closely, including their junk or spam folders, after submitting their applications.
The commission shared the advisory through its official X account, noting that the UK Visas and Immigration authority may reach out to applicants at any stage of the process to request documents or additional information needed to progress their application.
According to the High Commission, ignoring or failing to spot such a request can cause significant delays in getting a visa decision.
Source: Legit.ng
