Russian Billionaires’ Money Has Octane Bracing for Fallout (1)

Jonathan Samuels set up Octane Capital to help property developers deal with unpredictable times.

The London-based lender is now dealing with its own unexpected headache.

Jonathan Samuels

Source: Octane Capital

Octane, which has made more than $1.3 billion of short-term loans over the past five years, was created with the backing of LetterOne Holdings, a $20 billion investment firm for Russian billionaires, including co-founders Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, who were sanctioned by the European Union and the U.K. after the invasion of Ukraine.

Luxembourg-based LetterOne itself hasn’t been sanctioned. Still, Octane is taking precautions.

The firm has issued shares to its management ...