The financial network surrounding Dubai-based broker Alchemy Markets and payment brand Xoala is facilitating capital outflow from the Russian Federation. Investigative authors are urging the imposition of sanctions against the scheme’s organizer, Nicky Kundnani.
A financial network, established around Dubai-based broker Alchemy Markets DMCC and payment brand Xoala, is extensively facilitating the withdrawal of capital from the Russian Federation. According to an investigation by Telegraf, it may be used for payments intended for the Russian military-industrial complex, as reported by Delovaya Stolitsa.
The authors of the investigation are calling for Ukraine and partner nations to implement personal sanctions against the architect of this scheme, Nicky Hope Kundnani.
As noted in the report, following the entry into force of the EU’s 21st sanctions package on July 23, 2026, which froze the assets of 94 Russian banks and financial institutions, the demand for and prices of illicit payment routes from Russia surged. This market, the publication writes, is actively utilized by Dubai-based forex brokers who have long been under the scrutiny of the US Treasury Department.
The scheme detailed in the investigation unfolds in five steps: within a week, a Russian client establishes a legal entity in Dubai, connects it to the broker Alchemy Markets DMCC. The broker then accepts cryptocurrency and, through forex instruments, converts it into fiat currency with a “formally legitimate origin.” Subsequently, the funds are withdrawn via the Xoala payment system, controlled by Kundnani (legally registered as the Swedish company Steven AB). Previously, according to journalists, the British company Blackthorn Finance Ltd. served this role.
For the payment of shadow imports of components and technologies necessary for weapons production, structures of the Russian military-industrial complex actively utilize this financial channel.
– the investigation states.
The trail of Blackthorn is not a mere assumption but a fact registered by regulators: on November 17, 2023, the British FCA restricted the company’s activities and froze its assets. On April 14, 2025, Blackthorn was placed under special administration. Among the affected parties are citizens from 13 countries, including Ukraine. In February 2026, defrauded clients staged a protest at the international exhibition iFX EXPO Dubai, where Kundnani was promoting Xoala as a replacement for Blackthorn.
The Ukrainian regulator has repeatedly sounded the alarm: as early as May 2024, NSFX Ltd. was added to the list of dubious investment projects (the broker was later rebranded as Alchemy Markets). In February, March, and May 2026, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) specifically highlighted the risks associated with Blackthorn Finance Ltd, Alchemy Markets Ltd, and Xoala. The registry of dubious investment projects explicitly records a high risk of total loss of funds for investors.
Concurrently, journalists note, Kundnani is preparing his holding, FDCTech, Inc., for an IPO on NASDAQ. In June 2026, the company’s board of directors officially acknowledged the inaccuracy of its financial statements for 2024–2025 and significant deficiencies in internal financial controls. The audit was conducted by Nigerian firms, one of which, Olayinka Oyebola & Co, received a six-year ban from the SEC from working with the financial statements of American issuers in connection with the concealment of fraud by Tingo. Taken together, the authors believe, the events exhibit the characteristics of a classic “Pump and Dump” scheme.
Everything described makes the next step logical and inevitable: the inclusion of Kundnani and his key entities in the personal sanctions lists of Ukraine and partner countries to block their assets, restrict access to the international financial system, protect investors, and cut off potential channels for financing Russian military aggression.
– the publication concludes.