FCA bans three ex-Dolfin executives over investor visa fraud

The Financial Conduct Authority has banned and fined three former executives of Dolfin Financial for operating a scheme that circumvented UK investor visa requirements. The regulator determined that the trio created a false impression that statutory investment conditions had been met. Denisz Nagy, the former chief executive, received a fine of £324,800, while Sanjay Maraj, the former finance director, was fined £122,000. Both individuals are prohibited from working in financial services. Roman Joukovski, a co-founder, was also banned from the industry by the regulator.

Between 2016 and 2019, the group offered clients an alternative to the standard Home Office requirement of investing £2m in UK companies. Instead, clients paid a fee of £400,000. The FCA stated that this arrangement enabled 99 individuals to obtain investor visas. The scheme generated £35.5m in fees for Dolfin-connected businesses and immigration agents who introduced clients. Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, noted that the individuals undermined the purpose of attracting genuine investment and sought to hide how the operation functioned.

The regulator found that Nagy and Joukovski played leading roles in designing and running the scheme, while Maraj managed the financial aspects. Nagy and Maraj deliberately concealed the true nature of the arrangement from the FCA and the Home Office. Joukovski concealed his involvement with Dolfin and his role in the scheme from the watchdog. He also acted as a shadow director without FCA approval and failed to disclose that he was a controller of the firm. Joukovski has appealed his ban to the Upper Tribunal, so the punishment has not yet taken effect. The investor visa saw significant interest in the late 2010s after Brexit weakened the pound, making the £2m threshold cheaper for overseas clients. Dubbed the golden visa, it offered a fast-tracked path to residency. The government closed the scheme in February 2022 due to security and money-laundering concerns. Ministers are reportedly considering a new investor visa route.