Nazmin Valimahomed, CEO and Founder of Kroo
Imagine trying to set up your own bank here in Blighty. It’s a right old kerfuffle. You’ve got to be squeakier than a baby’s bum and your whole family have to be straighter than a stripper’s pole.
But Nazim Valimahomed did it. He built the tech, raked in a mint from investors, and sent in his application to the pencil pushers at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Jumping through all their hoops nearly did his head in.
But just as the company was getting the green light, Nazim was out on his ear as boss of Kroo! He was absolutely choked. After all those sleepless nights and barrel-loads of stress, the new business is ripped from his hands like a toy from a snotty-nosed toddler.
How did that happen? Well, like we said getting a banking license is a huge rigmarole. Just ask Kroo:
https://kroo.com/blog/building-a-bank-its-getting-real
There are four stages that take years to get through. Stage three is the bit where the FCA gets nosy and has a good old delve into the dirty laundry of the Board of Directors. They must have been happy with most of the fat cats running the show, except for one. Poor old Nazmin had to stand down as the CEO just as Kroo was going to go fully legit! Looking at the dates, it appears Nazim’s resignation fell slap bang in the middle of stage three, so it looks like the FCA forced Nazim to walk the plank.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/MVaOGc1raT4mqPI3VtzCAwKZAbM/appointments
So why the heave-ho? Is Nazim a bit dodgy or is it that his brother Nooreddin’s shady history rattled them?
That might be the answer! Nooreddin’s got more skeletons than a graveyard. Failed companies, debts up to his eyeballs, bankruptcy, offshore companies revealed in the Panama Papers, and chummy with some right dubious Russians. With a CV like that, no wonder the FCA got windy when Nooreddin’s brother wanted to open a bank!
But you can’t keep a Valimahomed down for long. The FCA can stop Nazim being a top dog but they can’t take away the fact he’s still the founder, and Nazmin doesn’t want anyone to forget that! So, he’s clinging on as a mouthpiece now his days as captain are well and truly over.
With the Valimahomed name lower than a snake’s belly, it can’t be easy for banker Nazim to be tarred with that brush. But he should have known that with his moniker he would have been lucky to get a dog license, never mind a banking one.
Let’s just hope the punters’ hard-earned dosh stashed in Kroo is safer than the moolah Nooreddin flushed away in his dodgy dealings!
