Nimbus-affiliated Italian financier Andrea Zanon and former CEO of the company, according to the company itself, in an archive image.
Andrea Zanon, a former World Bank adviser, slept behind bars in a Spanish prison on December 4th. The national court sent him to prison after he was arrested in Barcelona, where he stopped to meet a friend (as he said) before heading back to Dubai to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). Judge Joaquín Gadea decided to jail the Italian-born, United States-based financier as a precautionary measure due to the risk of leaking or destroying evidence related to the Nimbus case, an alleged cryptocurrency macropyramid fraud centered around the Nimbus company on Malta. . But Zanon, who was listed as “CEO.” [consejero delegado] of the company, minimizes his involvement in this company and assures that he played no role in the alleged fraud, which the Guardia Civil estimates at more than 100 million euros. “I have worked all my life to help poor people and reduce poverty. And I continue to do that. “Everything I did at Nimbus was in good faith,” he defended himself in his statement to the judge, to which EL PAÍS had access.
The groups concerned celebrated the arrest of the director, a former adviser to the World Bank (an institution that confirmed to this newspaper that he worked for them), who adds to his professional career some alleged collaborations as an adviser to former US President Bill Clinton; and Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State of the North American country. After three years of legal battles, the Italian became the first prisoner in this case. The ministry claims he was the “visible face” of Nimbus who “promoted” the product. “He was the confidant,” emphasizes the state prosecutor in charge of the investigation, who attributes him a “relevant role” in the events. “His CV has been used as a complaint on numerous occasions,” adds Judge Gadea, in the same spirit as he pointed out when ordering his detention: “Several of the aggrieved have confirmed that it was the fact that convinced them to be in Nimbus.” that Zanon was in charge of the company because he exuded great reliability.”
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It all started between the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020. Nimbus was founded in Malta and is spreading its tentacles over the internet. Your destination is, among other things, Spain. The company offered its customers to manage their cryptocurrency portfolios with the promise that their “revaluation” through buying and selling operations would result in the distribution of significant profits. He claimed he created an arbitrage bot to carry out these actions and, according to the researchers, gave users an electronic certificate – a so-called token – that supposedly secured their deposits. However, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Guardia Civil emphasize that there are indications that behind everything there was actually a “criminal organization” that was not dedicated to “buying and selling” Bitcoins in search of profit, but “transferred them to third parties “. “People who use bleaching techniques on them.” Although they initially tried to have “sufficient capital to keep up appearances,” there came a point when they stopped operating. On October 9, 2020, the company, as the summary states, “suspended all operations and blocked capital withdrawals.” Nimbus has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
This is when Zanon comes into play, whom prosecutors and judges say is a key factor in attracting investors. As the financier admitted in his hour-long testimony before the state court, he was tasked with “founding the company” and was listed as “CEO” in the documents. However, as he assures us, it was only symbolic in nature. “I have never acted as owner, CEO or partner of the company.” He limits his role. He says that from the beginning of 2020 until June this year, he was hired at a salary of $10,000 (more than 9,200 euros) per month to “do three things”: “train, train and figure out what would be suitable. “ Jurisdiction for the incorporation of the company.” “My relationship was short.” “I never had access to checking accounts, to their payment system. I had no access to the platform at all because it was not part of the prescribed work,” he repeated to the investigating judge.
Zanon, who broke down in tears at one point during the testimony, presented himself to Judge Gadea as something of a philanthropist, drawn to the idea that Nimbus was founded with “the long-term goal of democratizing finance”: “to provide access to innovation.” “To make instruments accessible to users who do not normally have access to them.” And, as he repeatedly emphasized to the judge, he has had a 25-year career dedicated to the “management of natural and environmental disasters”, the ” Climate Change”, “Energy Efficiency” and “Empowering Women Entrepreneurs”.
—What knowledge do you have in the field of cryptocurrencies? – Magistrate Gadea asked him after presenting his CV.
—Let's say almost zero […] “I have never worked with blockchain projects or digital currencies, with the exception of Nimbus,” replied the Italian, who says he has a degree in philosophy from the University of Bologna and a master’s degree in international relations from Georgetown University.
Target other suspects
The financier pointed out other suspects in his statement. Andrea Zanon explained that a certain David Mazaheri hired her for the company: “He lives between Washington and Rome, but I haven't spoken to him for a while. “I last saw him two years ago,” he told the judge, after assuring him that he had met Mazaheri in 2016 or 2017, when “an administration employee put them in touch.” [de Donald] Trump.” And in fact, when asked by the judge, Mazaheri repeatedly pointed the finger at this man. Who was responsible for the day-to-day management of Nimbus and who made the decisions? “David, along with his team.” Were they the ones who Nimbus controlled? “Yes”. Who took care of the economic issues? “David Mazaheri. I was not involved in any discussion, decision or action related to payments, customers, asset management….” Who was responsible for managing customers' cryptocurrencies ? “David and his team.”
As Zanon apologizes, he didn't even know anything about the software they were promoting that allowed them to promise high returns to their investors. “They didn’t even get me to talk about it because I didn’t understand it,” he added. He also referred to “Odysseas Kimiskez, a Greek citizen” as the “owner of Nimbus.” The Italian financier's defense maintains all this: “He only helps to publicize a project, but for a short period ending on June 30, 2020, when the company was still in its infancy and there were no possible illegal activities There was no action.” His participation in the events is non-existent. It was probably a mistake: he shouldn't have taken part with his name mentioned. David is the person who promoted the platform.” However, Judge Gadea did not believe him and ordered his preventative prison sentence, saying there was “solid evidence” that Zanon “founded the company Nimbus” and “contributed his extensive professional experience “to create a trusted brand that would serve to attract investors until this was ensured.” The scale of the fraud reaches the desired numbers, after which the company begins to take the necessary measures to completely divest from the company, and even goes so far as to pay for the deletion of that connection’s digital footprint.”
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