"Putin's banker" put $100 million into New Zealand trusts for his family, and a London judge ruled the trusts were shams

Sergei Pugachev founded Mezhprombank and was known in the press as Putin's banker. The bank collapsed in 2010. Its liquidator, the Russian Deposit Insurance Agency, claimed 76.6 billion roubles, over $1 billion, from him. In 2014 the English High Court froze his assets worldwide; the order was not complied with. Pugachev had set up five trusts in New Zealand, with his children among the beneficiaries^†, and named himself protector. In October 2017 Mr Justice Birss ruled that the five trusts were shams and that Pugachev was the sole beneficial owner. The judge found his powers as protector were personal, not fiduciary, so the assets stayed under his control and were open to creditors. Pugachev had already been sentenced in his absence to two years in prison for contempt of the English court. He left Britain for France in 2015, where he is a citizen^†. The trusts had been meant to shield about $100 million from creditors.