In April 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the judgement which found him civilly liable on grounds of his criminal convictions.
In 1974 he graduated from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.3
After graduating, he bought an existing gym in Waco, renamed it and expanded it into a chain called “Total Fitness”. It went bankrupt in 1982.4
In early 1984, Stanford declared personal bankruptcy, with a bankruptcy court clearing his debts in November 1984. Following this, he set up a burger joint in Waco, which was short-lived.5
From the mid-1980s on, Stanford partnered with his father, who ran the family business, to buy up depressed Houston real estate. They sold it a few years later, after the market had recovered, with huge profits.6
In 1985, Stanford began operating his first bank in Montserrat, British West Indies. After it was closed down by authorities during a crackdown on offshore-banking, he moved it to Antigua in 1990.7
In 1993, Stanford’s father retired and left the family business, which at that time had 500 employees, to him. Stanford used these resources to expand his financial operations, which would later turn out to be a Ponzi scheme based on Certificates of Deposits.8
Since 1998, Stanford was granted sweeping powers by Florida bank regulators by receiving clearance to move money from a Florida office to Antigua without filing reports to government agencies and to sell Certificates of Deposit to wealthy investors without fraud checks.9
In 2006, he was awarded knighthood in Antigua and Barbuda10. Also in 2006, he set up a cricket tournament called “Stanford 20/20” in the West Indies, with a prize money of 20 million USD, after having grown fond of the sport.11
By 2008, Stanford’s financial operations had amassed assets of over 7 billion USD, but 80 percent of those had gone into various risky investments12. While he continued his scheme by using sales from new CDs to pay existing depositors who redeemed their CDs, the financial crisis caused a slump in new CD sales and record redemptions. This led to Stanford stating he had personally invested 741 million USD in additional funds into the bank to strengthen its capital base. However, in truth there were no personal investments but an inflation of internal accountants by increasing the value of a piece of real estate the bank had purchased for 63.5 million USD earlier in 2008 by 5,000 percent to 3.1 billion USD – despite the fact that there were no independent appraisals or improvements to the property.13
In June 2009, Stanford was arrested by the FBI after a federal grand jury indicted him and several other defendants in the Southern District of Texas in connection with a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme operated through his bank, including counts involving conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of an SEC investigation. Stanford’s offshore banking operation raised approximately 7 billion USD from investors worldwide through the sale of high-yield certificates of deposit. The prosecution alleged that investor funds were diverted to support ventures controlled by Stanford, conceal his bank’s true financial condition, and fund his personal spending14. Also in 2009, Antigua and Barbuda revoked his knighthood due to the ongoing proceedings.15
In 2012, Stanford was convicted after a six-week jury trial on 13 of 14 counts related to his role in the Ponzi scheme. Evidence described a fraud operation spanning two decades, which caused severe losses for thousands of investors worldwide. In June 2012, Stanford was sentenced to 110 years in federal prison and ordered to pay a 5.9 billion USD personal money judgment. Additionally, approximately 330 million USD held in foreign bank accounts constituted proceeds of the fraud and were to be forfeited.16
In 2013, a federal judge awarded the SEC 5.9 billion USD in disgorgement and civil penalties, as well as more than $861 million in interest.17 Stanford’s appeal of this decision was rejected in October 2015 by the United States Court of Appeals of the Fifth Circuit.18
In 2016, Stanford’s appeal of his criminal conviction was rejected by the Supreme Court.19
Attended London’s Harrow School, where he befriended then-Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Razak’s stepson Riza Aziz.1
In 2005, he graduated from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and expanded his network.2
In 2009, Najib Razak became Malaysia’s Prime Minister and Low connected him with the investment fund Mubadala Development. This drastically increased Low’s standing with Malaysian banks and made getting loans easier for him3. The same year, Low served as an advisor for the Malaysian state fund Terengganu Investment Authority, which was later renamed 1MDB4. Goldman Sachs provided financial advice through its participating managing director Tim Leissner5.
In 2011, he became an economic citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis6.
Low continued to increase his high-profile connections and focused on investment projects and funds. He was the designated president of the board of advisers for 1MDB and used this role to funnel more than 4 billion USD from the fund through shell companies for his personal gain78. He never held a formal position at 1MDB but exercised significant control over the fund’s dealings9. He also worked as a finder and intermediary in relation to 1MDB officials and other government officials on a number of financial transactions and projects involving Goldman Sachs10.
In February 2012, Low provided Leissner and Roger Ng, an investment banker from Goldman Sachs, with a list of officials, close friends, associates, and wives of government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi, who would have to be paid off to close the first deal, titled Project Magnolia11. Low was fundamental in coordinating the deal, which saw 1MDB purchasing the Malaysian energy company Tanjong Energy Holdings. To meet Goldman Sachs’s requirements for bond issuances, 1MDB obtained a financial guarantee from the Middle Eastern Sovereign Wealth Fund, which was owned and controlled by the government of Abu Dhabi.
In May 2012, Project Magnolia was closed, raising 1.25 billion USD for 1 MDB and earning Goldman Sachs roughly 193 million USD. In the following three months, millions of dollars of bond proceeds were transferred through shell companies beneficially owned and controlled by Low and other participants in the scheme to pay for bribes and other favors, while also keeping a portion for their personal use.
In October 2012, another bond transaction, called Project Maximus, was closed and raised 1.75 billion USD for 1MDB to purchase another Malaysian power generation company. It followed the same pattern as Project Magnolia and earned Goldman Sachs an estimated 188 million USD. Again, some of the proceedings were transferred by Low and others to various individuals in exchange for obtaining and retaining business for Goldman Sachs.
In November 2012, Project Catalyze started. Its aim was to raise another 3 billion USD through a bond issuance to fund 1MDB’s portion of a joint venture with the Middle Eastern Investment Firm, a subsidiary of the Middle Eastern Sovereign Wealth Fund. It was closed in March 2013.
Out of the 6.5 billion USD raised by these three bond transactions, more than 2.7 billion were misappropriated and distributed by Low and Leissner as bribes and kickbacks to involved government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi as well as to other participants in the scheme and their families.
During and after the 1MDB Bond Deals, Goldman Sachs continued to do business involving Low, often with him in an advisor role. Examples are the restructuring of an investment by the Middle Eastern Investment Firm in a Malaysian bank and Low’s acquisition of an oil company through a joint venture with a subsidiary of the Middle Eastern Sovereign Wealth Fund. Both transactions also involved two officials from Abu Dhabi who had received bribes in connection with the bond deals12.
In 2013, the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street”, which was partially financed by Low and starred his friend Leonardo DiCaprio, was released1314.
In 2015, he received a Cyprian passport under the country’s “golden passport” scheme15. Low fled Malaysia in May, two months after the Malaysian Prime Minister had ordered auditors to verify 1MDB’s accounts1617.
In 2016, Interpol issued a red notice on him after request from Singapore18.
In 2018, the Malaysian government issued arrest warrants against him and the administration of Saint Kitts and Nevis deactivated his passport via Interpol19. Additionally, the US Department of Justice indicted him and two other collaborators in connection with the 1MDB findings20.
In 2019, Cyprus started the process of stripping him of his citizenship. It concluded in 2024, after Low’s appeal was rejected by an independent commission21. In October 2019, the US Department of Justice recouped nearly 1 billion USD which were taken from 1MDB via an agreement with Low. The agreement does not include admission of wrongdoing and does not release him from other criminal charges relating to the 1MDB case22.
In 2021, he was charged by the US Department of Justice with orchestrating an unregistered, back-channel campaign in 2017 to have US officials drop the investigation into Low and 1MDB, as well as to send a Chinese dissident back to China23.
Also in January 2026, the US Department of the Treasury published a press release about their increased pressure on Houthi smuggling and illicit revenue generation networks. Amongst other things, the Treasury accuses two Houthi controlled airlines of attempting to partner with Bout to buy commercial aircrafts in early 2025.
In December 2025, he was interviewed by Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda in connection with Putin’s comments on Kyiv’s and the EU’s amendments to Trump’s peace plan. https://www.kp.ru/daily/27758.5/5188111/
General
born in 1967 in Ashgabat or Dushanbe, the current capital of Tajikistan (back then Tajik SSR).12
In 1985, he failed to enroll in the Moscow State Institute of International Relations on his first attempt and was drafted into the army to serve in Transcarpathia3.45
In 1987, he entered the Military Institute of Foreign Languages, specializing in Portuguese. He attended an accelerated ten-month course, which was set up to quickly train translators to assist Soviet military specialists training local armies in Afghanistan and Africa.6
In 1988, it is said that after completing the accelerated course, he was commissioned a junior lieutenant and was sent to Angola for a few weeks and Mozambique for two years as a translator.78
In 1990, after his return from Africa, he spent nearly two more years studying at the institute before he decided to leave the army.9 Other sources state that he worked as a trade representative in Luanda, Angola, when the Soviet empire collapsed in 1990 and joined Alexander Sidorenko, a decorated former Soviet paratrooper, in his business of leasing and buying planes until 1994.10
In late 1991, he is said to have started his airline brokerage business.11
In 1993, he allegedly moved to the UAE and set up a new company, with its base at Sharjah Airport, from where it has operated worldwide flights.12
In 1995, one of his transports carrying weapons from Albania to the besieged Afghan President Rabbani was intercepted and hijacked by the Taliban at Kandahar.13 Bout reportedly went into business with the Islamic movement shortly after this incident, which also drew international attention to him.14
From 1995 to 1997 he allegedly worked and lived in Ostend, Belgium, where he owned the airline Transavia Export Cargo Company, with 60 aircraft. He is said to have moved to South Africa after police took notice of him, specifically after after a UN and Belgian investigation into allegations that a number of elderly Russian planes were supplying arms to the extremists responsible for the Rwandan genocide.151617
In 1998, he began transporting arms to Rwanda.18 He is said to have fled South Africa that same year, after the authorities suspected him of smuggling.19
In the late 1990s, he earned $50 million in profit for selling weapons to the Taliban, according to Belgian intelligence documents which were produced before 2001.20
In late 1999 and 2000, Peter Hain, then the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office minister with responsibility for Africa, started to raise alarms about sanction busters after British soldiers were coming under increasingly sophisticated attacks and ambushes by the rebels in Sierra Leone. Hain also accredited the upgrading of the rebel’s weapons from machetes to AK-47s, to a handful of arms dealers who ignored sanctions and called Bout the worst of them due his dealings in other countries like Angola. Hain also nicknamed Bout the “Merchant of Death”. 21222324
In December 2000, the UN released a report which focused on violations of sanctions against UNITA and lists Bout as the main culprit in regard to transport.25
In 2002, Belgium placed the Russian on an international wanted list on suspicion of diamond smuggling and money laundering.26
In April 2005, the US Department of the Treasury identified 30 companies and four individuals linked to Bout. From then on, any transactions between U.S. persons and the designated entities were prohibited and any assets of the designated persons that are within U.S. jurisdiction frozen.28
In October 2006, US President George W. Bush signed an executive order freezing Bout’s assets. The order cited his activities as a threat to US foreign policy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, accused him of supplying weapons to Afghanistan even after it went bankrupt, and accused him of having contacts with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.29
In March 2008, he was arrested in Thailand following a sting operation by US intelligence agencies, which had agents pose as Farc rebels. He was charged with conspiring to murder US military personnel, providing material support for terrorism, and trafficking portable surface-to-air missiles.30
In November 2010, he was extradited to the United States to stand trial on terrorism charges, much to Russia’s displeasure.3132
He spent the first 15 months in complete isolation, in a windowless, solitary confinement cell with 24-hour artificial lighting. He then spent seven years without visits, four of which were in a completely closed special unit for holding prisoners convicted of terrorism-related offenses.
In 2012, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison after having been found guilty in 2011.33 In November 2012, the US Department of Justice also denied Bout’s requested extradition to Russia due to the “seriousness of the crime he committed.”34
In 2013, his appeal was rejected, and the verdict of the federal court for the Southern District of New York was upheld.35
In October 2015, he lost his bid for a new trial.36
In 2020, Russia allegedly proposed to swap him in a prisoner exchange for Paul Whelan, a US citizen convicted in Russia.37
In December 2022, he returned to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange. He was swapped for US basketball player Brittney Griner, who had been sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for drug charges.38
In October 2024, it was reported that he was trying to work out a deal with Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, whose main target is Israel. According to Western officials, it was one potential deal of many as part of the Kremlin’s escalation strategy that seeks to apply pressure on the West without directly involving Russia.3940
Viktor Bout: Personal Profile
Viktor Anatolyevich Bout was born on 13 January 1967. He is known as a Russian arms dealer and politician. A weapons manufacturer and former Soviet military translator, he used his companies to smuggle arms from Eastern Europe to Africa and the Middle East during the 1990s and early 2000s. Bout gained the nicknames the “Merchant of Death” and “Sanctions Buster” after British minister Peter Hain read a report to the United Nations in 2003 on Bout’s wide-reaching operations, extensive clientele, and willingness to bypass embargoes.
October 2024 Arms-Related Claims Multiple outlets report that Bout is allegedly acting as an intermediary for weapons sales to Yemen’s Houthi militants:
Born in 1979 or 1980 in Bollate (Milan), Italy.[1][2]
In 1990, he graduated in Business Economics from the Bocconi University in Milan.[3]
In 2015, Nunzio Samuele Calamucci founded “Edil Cns”, a one-man business specializing in masonry work.[4]
In 2019, he set up a company together with his friend Massimiliano Camponov: Mercury Advisor Srls, one of the three private investigation firms at the centre of the investigation and seized.[5][6]
In 2022, Equalize’s platform Beyond launched, which Calamucci had built with his team and was using a subscription model. The platform relied on five databases and three servers, in Milan, London, and Lithuania and collected data to profile its customers. Equalize allegedly had illegal access to the databases of the Automobile Club Italia (ACI), the Revenue Agency (SERPICO), ISTAT and the SDI (Sistema d’Indagine, digital database of the Italian Ministry of the Interior), from which they could import entire files and navigate at various levels: weapons, reported crimes, local checks, documents, etc..[7]
In February 2023, he met with two Israeli agents at the Equalize office. According to a police report, they requested information about the Russian Wagner Group, including its funding and financial activities within Europe. During a call with a business partner the day before the meeting, Calamucci stated that the agents were also acting on behalf of the Vatican.[8][9]
In October 2024, he was arrested and placed under house arrest for allegedly producing illegal dossiers and unauthorized access to databases.[10]
In December 2024, he was interrogated in connection with the Equalize case. During this, he denied ever having been a member of Anonymous: “Never, never, my IT skills are average.”[11] According to the prosecutors, he was the one who established the operational strategies and planned the illicit activities thanks to his formidable network of hackers and IT consultants.[12] Examples are former Carabinieri Vincenzo De Marzio, who handled the kidnapping of Abu Omar, and Gabriele Pegoraro, who according to the prosecutors has collaborated several times with law enforcement agencies in important investigative activities and is one of the most skilled hackers and IT experts available in the Italian scene but is now under investigation for illegal Trojans.[13]
In September 2025, he was questioned in regard to the existence of a Carabinieri note he had revealed during his interrogation in December 2024. The note from the 1980s allegedly contains references to an alleged meeting in the Comasina area of Milan, under a bridge, between Silvio Berlusconi and a person—as yet unidentified—close to the mafioso Vittorio Mangano[14], during which the latter allegedly handed over money to the future prime minister.[15]
In November 2025, he stated during a joint interrogation in connection with the Equalize case that Pazzali requested confidential data on La Russa, the President of the Senate[16].[17][18]
In 1990, he graduated in Business Economics from the Bocconi University in Milan.[2]
From 1990 to 1995 he held marketing positions at Bull HN Information System Italia.[3]
From 1995 to 1997, he was responsible for the development and implementation of automation at Shell Italia SpA in his role as Retail Automation Manager.[4]
From 1997 to 2000, he was Sales Manager for Italy for Compaq SpA. During this time, he was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Consortium for the creation of the Turin Bio Technology Park and of COREP – Consortium for Research and Permanent Education of Turin.[5]
From 2000 to 2002, he was corporate sales director for North-West Italy for Omnitel-Vodafone SpA.[6]
From 2002-2005, he was the Strategic Marketing and Business Development Director and Group Chief Marketing Officer for Poste Italiane SpA.[7]
From 2005 to 2006, he was the Central Director of Organisation and Personnel and Resources and Information Systems for the Lombardy Region.[8]
In 2007, he joined Fiera Milano SpA, where he served as General Manager until he became CEO in 2009.[9]
From July 2008 to September 2009, he was a member of the Board of Directors of Sogei SpA.[10]
From April 2009 to 2015, he became Chief Executive Officer of Fiera Milano SpA after having been its Director General from January 2007.[11] This cemented his friendship with politician Attilio Fontana, then mayor of Varese and currently president of Lombardy since 2018.[12][13]
From May 2012 to August 2013, he was a Director of Nolostand SpA, a Fiera Milano Group company.[14] In 2016, the company was under partial administration for a few months in connection with having suffered a mafia infiltration between 2013 and 2015. A company belonging to a consortium that is said to have ties to the Cosa Nostra worked almost exclusively with Nolostand SpA and handled setting-up stands located at the exhibition sites of the trade fair organization. They allegedly misappropriated €18 million by using a system of companies producing false invoices which created slush funds and moved the money to Sicily, benefitting Cosa Nostra members.[15][16][17]
In 2013, he became Vice President for Strategy at EMECA (European Major Exhibition Centres Association), the umbrella organization for the 22 most important exhibition centres in Europe.[18]
In 2015, he left his position as CEO at Fiera Milano SpA amidst insufficient financial results and tensions between him and the foundation’s president, Benito Benedini.[19][20]
From April to December 2015, he was a member of the Board of Directors of EUR SpA until he took on the role of CEO of the company until June 2020.[21] He moved to Rome for this position.[22]
In 2018, he founded Equalize and remained its main shareholder with a 95% stake. He later claimed to have had no involvement in the company’s alleged dossier-gathering activities.[23]
In 2019, he returned to Milan and Fiera Milano in his role as president of its foundation.[24] He was appointed by the president of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, with his appointment being the result of an agreement among various members of the centre-right, with the green light from Milan’s Democratic Party mayor, Beppe Sala.[25]
In November 2020, he was re-elected to the Board of Directors of UFI (The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry).[26]
In 2021, he was awarded the Ambrogino d’Oro[27] by the Municipality of Milan and the Rosa Camuna by the Region of Lombardy, mostly due to him providing facilities and resources during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic.[28][29]
In November 2022, he became a member of the Board of Directors of Bocconi University.[30]
In October 2023, he was re-elected to the Board of Directors of UFI (The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry).[31]
In 2024, he resigned from his position as president of the Fiera Milano Foundation and from the Board of Directors of Bocconi University.[32]
In October 2024, it emerged that he allegedly was informed by a senior officer of Milan’s FInancial Police (Milanese Guardia di Finanza) in June 2023 about prosecutor Paolo Storari’s investigation into him. His reaction was said to have been: “Have me arrested, and when I get out I’ll punch him in the face”. Storari was also the prosecutor who tried to prove that Fiera Milano is a public body and pushed for having it put under special administration due to alleged bribes in August 2022.[33]
In early June 2025, he revoked his voluntary suspension and returned to his position as president of the Fiera Milano Foundation until his term expired on 30 June 2025.[34] His successor is Giovanni Bozzeti.[35]
In July 2025, prosecutors described him in their closing notice of their investigation as the mastermind and promoter of the criminal conspiracy surrounding the Equalize case. They conclude that especially due to his role at the Fiera Milano Foundation and dense network of relationships and acquaintances, he was the driving force behind acquiring clients. The prosecutors list 202 charges in connection with the case, with the main charges being criminal conspiracy to unauthorized access to a computer or telematic system, corruption, unlawful interception of computer communications, unlawful possession and installation of equipment and other devices designed to intercept computer or telematic communications, disclosure of classified information, and aiding and abetting.[36]
Also in July 2025, the request to put him under house arrest was rejected by Milan’s Court of Reviews.[37]
In November 2025, he claimed that he never took money, never knew about the existence of secret dossiers and was betrayed by CEO Carmine Gallo.[38] This is in contrast to Samuele Calamucci, Equalize’s hacker, who stated in November 2025 that Pazzali requested confidential data on La Russa, the President of the Senate.[39]
In the 1980s, he was part of operation “Infinito”, which focused on the infiltration of the ‘Ndrangheta in Lombardy.[3][4]
In 1988, he was one of the officers who filmed the most important ‘Ndrangheta meeting since their summit in 1969. While investigating a cocaine deal, they witnessed the meeting between bosses Giuseppe Morabito (Africo), Antonio Pelle (San Luca), Antonio Papalia (entire Calabrian mafia in Northern Italy) and Pasquale Zappia, the boss who would be appointed regent of Lombardy in 2009.[5]
In January 1997, he arrested Patrizia Reggiani on suspicion of orchestrating the murder of her ex-husband and fashion house heir, Maurizio Gucci. During that time, he was on duty as head of a police unit targeting organised crime and had received intel from an informant which helped him solve the case.[6]
In 1998, he handled the kidnapping of businesswoman Alessandra Sgarella in Milan, which led to her being freed from a ‘Ndrangheta commando in the countryside near Locri in September 1998 after nine months of captivity.[7][8]
In the early 1990s, he played a crucial role in investigating how criminal organizations, including the Sicilian Mafia, infiltrated public procurement in Northern Italy by exploiting local companies and cooperatives. These investigations highlighted the phenomenon of a “grey zone”, collusion between local entrepreneurs and mafia clans to divide up public contracts and funding.[9][10][11]
In 1993, he managed to convince Saverio Morabito[12], who had been imprisoned in Bergamo since 1990, to become one of the first ‘Ndrangheta informers. This led to many arrests in the syndicate.[13][14][15]
In 2007, he led negotiations after six Italians were murdered in Duisburg as part of a mafia feud.[16][17]
In 2009, he solved the murder of Maria Teresa Procacci, widow and heir to a vast real estate portfolio.[18][19]
In 2015, he managed the security of the Heads of State who attended the Milan Expo.[20]
He retired from the police force in 2018[21]. He was part of several borderline operations while on active duty as well as in direct contact with criminals for decades.[22] After his retirement, he became a partner (5%) and the CEO of Equalize, an information technology consulting firm founded in 2018 and owned by Enrico Pazzali (95%).
In 2019, he was rehabilitated after previously being convicted by the Milan Court of Appeal in 2015 for revealing secrets and aiding and abetting.[23] This was due to him becoming a person of interest in the Testuggine investigation by the Venice District Anti-Mafia Directorate, with Padua’s Special Operations Group confirming his involvement in shady matters.[24] Gallo had come under investigators’ scrutiny because he had provided Federico Corniglia, a man who laundered money for the gangs and was involved in that investigation, with confidential information on the ongoing activities.[25]
In 2022, he met with a person linked to organized crime which was under observation by the police and has been referred to as “Omissis”. Once Gallo’s identity was confirmed, an investigation into him was launched which led to Equalize’s illegal operations being uncovered.[26]
In October 2024, he was placed under house arrest along with three of his associates by Varese’s Investigative Unit.[27] In the arrest warrant, prosecutors describe him as an “individual who, as has been seen, enjoys high-level support in various circles, including that of the mafia and the secret services, even foreign ones.”[28] The prosecution accused Gallo of exploiting his relationships and knowledge from the past, including criminal contacts, to provide clients with dossiers containing illicitly acquired data. Reported victims of these dossiers include senior politicians, business figures, footballers and the current Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.[29][30]
Prosecutors claim that during their investigations they found that in October 2022, he had planned to contact Vittorio Boiocchi, head of Inter Milan’s ultras and career criminal[31], to acquire parking space at the San Siro Stadium for his clients. He is cited saying that he knew him since he had arrested him plenty of times. However, a few days later the Inter ultras leader was killed before Gallo could contact him.[32]
In March 2025, Gallo died from a heart attack during house arrest, a few days before his hearing to discuss an appeal lodged by the Prosecutor’s Office.[33]
In October 2008, he registered the company Deal for Real Ltd. It was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in May 2010.[2]
In October 2012, he registered the company Clean Tech Investments Ltd. It was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in February 2016.[3]
In January 2013, he registered the company Empowering Wind MFC Ltd. It was dissolved in March 2020 following liquidation.[4]
In September 2013, it was reported that Empowering Wind MFC Ltd would supply Middlesbrough FC with a 136m-tall wind turbine in the Riverside Stadium’s overflow car park, making the sports venue self-sustainable. I was estimated to start generating electricity from May 2014.[5]
From October 2013 to February 2014, he was director of Empowering Wind Ltd. The company was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in November 2014.[6]
In April 2014, he registered the company Earth Energy Investments LLP. The company was dissolved in July 2019 following liquidation.[7]
In September 2014, he registered the company Empowering Wind Consulting Ltd. It was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in April 2016.[8]
In November 2014, it was reported that installation of the planned wind turbine was stalled due to the local airport objecting to the scheme and requesting financial compensation in the amount of 700,000 GBP over 20 years for having to install a new radar. The airport’s representative stated that Millinder’s company had been aware of the problem since planning permission was given in 2008 but has not provided any solutions.[9]
In October 2015, he registered the company Mill Property Developments LLP. It was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in April 2017.[10]
In June 2016, he registered the company Wave Power Gen Ltd. The company was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in November 2017.[11]
In June 2016, he registered the company Favourite Sausage Company Ltd. The company was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in November 2017.[12]
In November 2016, he registered the company UK Venison & Deer Farming Ltd. It was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in January 2019.[13]
In 2017, he started a crowdfund project called “Save Teesside Airport – Stop the Housing” to finance the filing of judicial review proceedings by a senior barrister.[14]
From February 2017 to February 2019, he was director of Fishtripadvisor Ltd.[15]
In March 2017, he registered the company Litigio LLP. It was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in July 2019.[16]
In July 2017, he registered the company Clean Tech Investments Ltd, reusing the name. It was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in December 2018.[17]
In May 2018, he registered the company SC1 Ltd. It was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in January 2021.[18]
In June 2018, he was served an Extended Civil Restraint Order (ECRO) by Judge Pelling.[19]
In February 2019, the High Court dismissed his application to revoke the ECRO.[20]
In July 2019, he registered the company Stop Corruption UK LLP. It was dissolved via compulsory strike-off in January 2022.[21]
In November 2020, the High Court dismissed his application for permission to appeal the ECRO ruling.[22]
In March 2021, he attended the hearing regarding the Attorney General’s request to serve him a section 42 order (SCA). If accepted, this would prevent him from starting proceedings without the court’s permission. Section 42 covers all litigation and applications that a “vexatious” litigant may wish to bring. The judgement to grant the request was approved in July 2021 and he was put on the government’s list of vexatious litigants.[23][24][25]
In November 2022, he was found to have been in contempt of court by having sent emails to Mr Justice Fancourt and his clerk as well as His Honour Judge Prince between September 2021 and December 2021. Furthermore, he had made an application to the Crown Court at Newcastle without first obtaining permission of the High Court. He was sentenced to 15 months’ immediate custody on three counts of contempt of court.[26][27]
In January 2024, he failed with two applications he had lodged in 2023 via Deuda Ltd, a company apparently created only for this purpose. He sought the restoration of two of his companies following litigation involving Middlesbrough Football Club as well as relief and damages. Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that two applications brought by Edinburgh-registered Deuda Ltd were in reality the work of Millinder, who has been the subject of successive civil restraint orders. The judge also declined a request by a lay applicant, Paul Gregory, to represent Deuda Ltd and observed that Gregory had obviously been asked by Millinder to attend the hearing. The judge also noted that Millinder had sent a tirade of emails to the court and Government Legal Department before and on the day of the hearing, which in themselves are breaches of the “vexatious litigant” order (SCA, §42). The court also heard that he has not surrendered himself to custody and continues to be in contempt.[28]
In April 2025, the company Deuda Ltd was renamed Intelligence UK Investigations Ltd.[29]
According to his LinkedIn profile, he has relocated to Hong Kong.[30] This matches with an article on Legal Lens, a website that seeks to empower Litigants in Person, from February 2025. The article states that he has exhausted all legal options in the UK and is now trying to have Hong Kong’s courts assess his claims.[31]
In February 2025, AG v Paul Millinder [2021] was cited in a decision by the England and Wales High which granted the Attorney General’s office a sought CPO against the defendant. The judge furthermore stated that, had a more draconian APO been sought, she would have granted it.[32]
Name: Pierre Konrad Dadak Born: 28 March 1976, Paris, France Nationality: French–Polish Known for: Alleged arms dealing, fraud, and international corruption scandals Languages: French (native), Polish, Spanish, English (reported) (Wikipedia)
Pierre Konrad Dadak is a French–Polish alleged arms dealer and fraudster who has been described as a controversial figure at the centre of a complex network of corruption and fraudulent activity extending from Europe to Africa and beyond. He has been the subject of multiple international criminal investigations and media exposés. (Wikipedia)
Dadak was born in Paris in 1976 to Polish immigrant parents. His father was trained as an engineer and his mother studied fine arts. He grew up in the 18th arrondissement of Paris and was educated at Lycée Jules Ferry and the Institute supérieur de gestion, graduating in 1999. Reports indicate he also attended courses at New York University. (Wikipedia)
Early Legal Troubles
Between 2000 and 2006, Dadak was arrested multiple times in France on charges including fraud, use of false documents, tax evasion, theft, and violence. (OCCRP)
Arms-Dealing Career & Business Ventures
In 2009, Dadak relocated to Warsaw and began working in arms sales, securing a contract with Poland’s state-owned defence company Bumar (now Polski Holding Obronny) as an agent responsible for sales in Africa and Latin America. He established Rosevar Holdings in Cyprus to facilitate these activities. (OCCRP)
Allegations of Front Companies & Fraud
Reports by OCCRP and partner outlets describe Dadak’s role in establishing companies such as Polietica, alleged to have been used to hide fraudulent arms deals and to extract down-payments from clients without delivering any actual military equipment. (OCCRP)
Investigations and Arrests
2016 Ibiza Arrest
On 14 July 2016, Spanish police raided Dadak’s villa in Ibiza, arresting him along with others. The villa had allegedly been declared a consulate of Guinea-Bissau, giving Dadak a diplomatic passport at the time. The investigation involved allegations of fraud, money laundering, and potential arms trafficking. (OCCRP)
2018 Media Coverage
Despite being released on bail, Dadak remained in the spotlight. Reporting noted his links to numerous countries through alleged arms deals and ties to organized crime figures. (OCCRP)
2023 Arrest & Extradition
In mid-June 2023, Dadak was arrested at Barcelona–El Prat Airport by Spanish authorities and the FBI while holding a diplomatic passport from Guinea-Bissau, on charges including fraud and money laundering. He was later extradited to the United States in March 2025 as part of federal criminal proceedings. (OCCRP)
U.S. Charges and Legal Proceedings
In the U.S., Dadak was indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges related to an alleged fraud and extortion scheme involving impersonating a luxury goods retailer and using stolen identities. According to court documents, proceeds were used to fund a lavish lifestyle, including luxury watches and vehicles. He pled guilty to one count of wire fraud under a plea agreement. (OCCRP)
Public Perception and Media Characterizations
Dadak has been portrayed in the media in dramatic terms, including comparisons to fictional arms dealer characters from television and allegations of involvement with organized crime and guerrilla groups. Reporting has highlighted the surreal nature of his activities and the international span of investigations. (The Independent)
In 2017, he began to establish a network of and between companies, with most of them being in Singapore.[5][6] In January 2017, he became a shareholder and director of Yihao Cyber Tech, listed as a software development company incorporated the same month.
In February 2017, he became director of Su Zigen Chengmei, listed as a Cambodian wholesale & retail trade company incorporated the same month.
From November 2017 to September 2018, he was shareholder and director of S’pore La Fu Hot Pot, a restaurant company incorporated in November 2017 and delisted in September 2018.
In December 2017, he became a shareholder of Yihao Invt Hldg, a private equity firm incorporated the same month.
In April 2019, he became a shareholder of Meining (Asia) Intl Electronic Commerce, listed as a wholesale & retail trade company incorporated the same month.
In October 2020, he became a shareholder and director of Aiqinhai Invt, a holding company incorporated in September 2020.[7]
In December 2020, he became a shareholder and director of Daily Glory Intl, a holding company incorporated in October 2020.[8]
From June 2021 to September 2023, he was a shareholder of SG-Gree, listed as a wholesale & retail trade company incorporated in June 2021.[9]
Between January and October 2021, Yihao Cyber Technologies received payments from an overseas firm that was involved in remote gambling operations targeting foreign nationals. These payments were subsequently moved into bank accounts at Singaporean banks UOB and DBS, amounting to 1.2 million USD.[10][11]
From October 2021 to June 2022, he was the director of No Signboard Holdings Limited, a seafood restaurant chain established in 1981.[12]
In March 2022, he allegedly conspired with Junjie Wang to forge a document purporting to be an e-commerce software agreement between Yihao Cyber Technologies and SG-Gree. The false document was meant to be used to cheat DBS Bank.[13]
During his arrest in August 2023, he tried to escape police by jumping from the balcony of his bedroom on the second floor and hiding in a drain near his house.[14]
During the court proceedings it was revealed that he owned passports from China, Cyprus, Cambodia, Turkey and Saint Lucia, with some of them having already expired. The passport from Saint Lucia had “Su Junjie” printed on it, an alias he had used since elementary school.[15]
In September 2023, it became public knowledge that he was the UBO of New Yihao Limited, a company registered in Jersey, which bought two buildings in London for more than 73 million USD in 2021.[16]
In April 2024, he faced 14 charges, including one count of resisting arrest, three counts of violating the Anti-Corruption, Drug Trafficking, and Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Proceeds) Acts, three counts of forgery, four counts of deception, and three counts of violating the Employment of Foreign Workers Act.[17] He pleaded guilty to the charges of one count of resisting arrest and two counts of money laundering and was sentenced to 14 months in prison. The court also ordered the forfeiture of S$166 million (US$123 million) of the assets that were seized from him, his wife, and his companies.[18]
In May 2025, pictures showing him at dinners with Singaporean ministers Chee Hong Tat, Ong Ye Kung and lawmaker and former minister Ng Chee Meng caused increased public scrutiny.[20][21] The photos were taken during private networking dinners between November 2020 and May 2022.[22]
In August 2025, his golden passport from Cyprus was revoked.[23]
Graduated from University of Economics in Bratislava in 1994.
Stated during a lecture: “My first business was that I bought winter jackets in Austria after the season for a few hundred and sold them for two and a half thousand before the next winter.”[1]
Later, he founded a company selling financial and insurance products. His partner at that time was Peter Krištofovič, now one of the richest Slovaks.
In the mid-1990s, Krúpa focused on trading in securities, and an opportunity opened up to him thanks to voucher privatization. He also started buying up shares of various companies, which he sold at a profit.[2]
He drew attention in the Czech Republic in October 2007, when his company Arca Capital Bohemia acquired 31% of Czech electricity trader Moravia Energo for 5.8 million USD from the former Czech prime minister Stanislav Gross. Gross himself had bought the shares for less than 1 million USD six months prior.[4][5] In spring 2008, Arca Capital sold the shares for 7.9 million USD to the owner of the remaining 69% of shares, Tomas Chrenek.[6]
In 2007, it was reported that he spent a significant part of the year in Ukraine, which has become his third home after Bratislava and Prague.[7]
In 2013, he wrote an article for HN Online[8] in which he criticized Yulia Tymoshenko’s gas deal with Russia which led to her imprisonment.[9]
In March 2014, police froze money in Arca Capital Global Equity fund’s accounts in connection with an out-of-court settlement that state owned ČEZ had reached with Arca Capital group after they had bought back minority shareholders’ claims of the former distribution company Severomoravská energetika.[10] The funds were unfrozen in July 2014.[11][12]
During an interview in 2015, he spoke about the situation in Ukraine and how business there is concluded – which led to him indirectly admitting to corruption.[13]
In 2016, he tried to buy up the debts of the failing tech company ČKD Praha DIZ. By then, the company had already entered insolvency proceedings and had assets seized due to allegations of tax frauds.[14] While this is in line with Krupal’s business strategy, what caused a controversy was that he had employed the former financial director of the ČKD group and member of the board of directors of ČKD Praha DIZ, Soňa Vladařová, as investment director and, from December 2017 on, as a member of the supervisory board at Arca Capital CEE. She was charged and arrested in April 2018 on account of tax fraud during her time at ČKD, which ended her employment contract with Arca.[15]
In 2017, Arca Capital Bohemia applied for access to documents relating to a procedure for reviewing State aid, citing public interest. The documents in question were the Framework Agreement of 22 June 1998 concluded between the Czech National Bank, GE Capital Bank, a.s. and GE Capital International Holdings Corporation, USA in connection with the privatisation and restructuring of Agrobanka Praha a.s. and its annexes as well as amendments from November 2000 and November 2001. The case was ultimately dismissed in 2018 by the General Court (Second Chamber) of the Court of Justice of the European Union.[16] This was in regard to a lawsuit Arca, in its position as shareholder of Agrobanka Praha during its liquidation, filed in October 2017, claiming that the agreement is invalid on the grounds that the purchase agreement does not contain essential elements and is contrary to the law.[17]
In early 2018, the Czech National Bank banned Krupa from managing the Arca Capital CEE investment fund on the grounds of him withholding important information in his application for permission to head a fund managing assets worth almost 900 million crowns. The regulator also accused him of having previously served on the boards of companies that were punished for violations of capital market rules. The central bank literally stated that Krúpa does not inspire confidence in it.[18]
In October 2018, he received a state award from the then President of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman for his fight against businessman Zdeněk Bakal and his consistent criticism of Bakal’s mining company OKD[19].[20][21]
In autumn 2020, it became public knowledge that Arca investments was facing financial difficulties.[22] Cited reasons for this are (i) uncontrolled expansion and insufficient supervision of dozens of subsidiaries, (ii) the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused a loss of liquidity and (iii) unreliable accounting and suspicion of machinations, which are being investigated by the Slovak NAKA[23]. In July 2025, the group’s debt was estimated to be over 700 million EUR.[24]
In 2021, he was convicted in the US for slander and extortion of Czech billionaire Zdeněk Bakala – he ran an extortion campaign against him and offered to stop it for enough money. He was sentenced to pay Bakala 32.4 million USD.[25][26]
In September 2022, it became known that Krupa refused to pay and didn’t acknowledge the US ruling.[27]
In August 2025, the High Court in Prague, as the court of appeal, confirmed the approval of the reorganization plan of the IFIS investment fund for Arca Investments by a resolution dated August 20, 2025.[28]
In January 2026, Krupa attended and disrupted Proxenta’s general meeting with his aggressive behaviour. He stated that he attended the general meeting as a representative of several PCI shareholders but refused to answer the question of whether he owns shares in this company himself.[29]
Studied law in the 1970s at the National University of La Plata where she met Néstor Kirchner (president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007)[1], whom she married in 1975.
There were some controversies surrounding whether she actually received a degree in law. She registered at the Tribunal Superior de Justicia of Santa Cruz in 1980, Comodoro Rivadavia’s Chamber of Appeals in 1985 and worked as an attorney for the Justicialist Party in 1983. Nevertheless, allegations were regularly raised and ended up in court four times. All the rulings were in her favour, the most recent one in 2016.[2][3]
From May 2003 to December 2007, she was Argentina’s First Lady.
From December 2007 to December 2015, she was the 56th President of Argentina.
In 2009, a public battle between Kirchner and her administration and Clarín Group[4] started due to a controversial anti-monopoly media law having been passed, which would severely affect the company by limiting cable ownership to a 35% market share in not more than 25% of Argentina’s provinces. The Clarín group published Argentina’s largest-selling newspaper, Clarín, which had been a consistently critical voice of the Kirchner government. In turn, the government was accused of 450 legal and administrative acts of harassment against Clarín.[5] The battle ended in October 2013 with the Supreme Court ruling the media law constitutional.[6]
Following the death of her husband in 2010, she became leader of the Front for Victory, a major faction within the Justicialist Party.[7]
In 2016, she was indicted on charges of manipulating the nation’s Central Bank during the final months of her administration by entering into contracts to sell the Central Bank’s dollars at below-market rates in order to shore up the Argentine peso.[8] She was acquitted, with the Supreme Court upholding this decision in December 2024.[9]
Also in 2016, the Court of Cassation, Argentina’s highest criminal appeals court, voted unanimously to reopen the criminal complaint which accuses Kirchner and others of having negotiated a deal with Iran in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people.[10] The allegations were raised by prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who had investigated the bombing since 2005, a week before his death in January 2015 under questionable circumstances.[11] Kirchner and other defendants in this case were acquitted in 2021[12], but the Supreme Court overturned this decision in December 2024.[13]
In 2017, she was indicted along with both her children on corruption related charges in connection with a family real estate company. Allegedly, businesses rented properties from the real estate company, Los Sauces, in exchange for public works contracts and other favours.[14] The Supreme Court rejected the latest extraordinary appeal in December 2024, paving the way to place the accused on trial.[15]
From December 2019 to December 2023, she was the 37th Vice President of Argentina during Alberto Fernández’s presidency.
In September 2022, she survived an assassination attempt due to the pistol used in the attack failing to fire.[16][17]
In December 2022, she was sentenced to six years in prison and banned from holding public office for a fraud scheme that directed public roadworks contracts to Lázaro Báez, a family friend, while she was the first lady and president. The prosecution argued that from 2003 to 2015, the scheme defrauded the state of about 920 million USD by awarding contracts at inflated prices, going over budget or granting other special considerations. However, due to Kirchner appealing the ruling she was able to stay in office.[18]
In 2024, she became president of the Justicialist Party[19], the largest party in opposition to the President of Argentina, Javier Milei.
In December 2024, the Supreme Court ordered her to stand trial for the signing of a memorandum between Argentina and Iran regarding the 1994 AMIA bombing.[20][21]
In March 2025, the US banned her and one of her ministers from entering the country. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited they had “abused their positions by orchestrating and financially benefiting from multiple bribery schemes involving public works contracts”.[22][23]
In June 2025, she was blocked from her political comeback due to a six-year sentence being upheld by the Supreme Court. Because of her age, she has been allowed to serve her sentence under house arrest.[24][25]
In November 2025, she had assets in the amount of nearly 500 million USD seized by a federal court.[26]
Also in November 2025, she went on trial along with others in connection with participating in an illicit network that allegedly received bribes from businessmen in exchange for lucrative government contracts.[27]
