FCA Bans and Fines Former Dolfin Executives Over £35.5 Million Visa Scheme

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has moved to ban three former senior figures at Dolfin Financial (UK) Limited after finding they orchestrated an unlawful scheme that allowed clients to bypass UK investor visa rules. Former Chief Executive Denisz Nagy has been fined £324,800, and former Finance Director Sanjay Maraj has been fined £122,000. Both executives have been prohibited from performing any function in relation to regulated financial services. Co-founder Roman Joukovski was also issued a Decision Notice seeking to ban him from working in the financial services industry. Mr Joukovski has referred the notice to the Upper Tribunal, meaning the findings against him are provisional pending the tribunal's determination. According to the regulator, the scheme operated between 2016 and 2019, enabling at least 99 individuals to obtain UK investor visas. Rather than investing £2 million of their own capital into legitimate UK companies as required by Home Office rules, most clients paid a fee of £400,000. The arrangement was deliberately structured to give the false appearance that the required investment thresholds had been satisfied. The operation generated at least £35.5 million in fees for businesses connected to Dolfin and the immigration agents who introduced the clients. The FCA found that Mr Nagy and Mr Joukovski took leading roles in developing and running the scheme, while Mr Maraj managed the financial mechanics after its launch. Furthermore, Mr Nagy and Mr Maraj actively concealed the true nature of the arrangement from both the FCA and the Home Office. The FCA also established that Mr Joukovski deliberately hid his involvement with Dolfin and his role in the scheme from the regulator, acting as an unapproved shadow director and controller of the firm. Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, emphasized the importance of market integrity, stating that the individuals deliberately undermined rules intended to bring genuine investment into the UK and subsequently attempted to hide their conduct. Dolfin Financial was previously placed under regulatory restrictions by the FCA in March 2021 before entering special administration in June 2021. The Home Office officially shut down the Tier 1 investor visa route in February 2022 and has since refused leave to remain applications for multiple clients who utilized the scheme.