On October 10, 2019, a startup, whose board of directors included Ashurkov, announced a voluntary cessation of activity. This became known from the base of British companies CompaniesHouse.
In 2015, Ashurkov received political asylum in Britain, after he was accused in Russia of fraud in financing the election campaign of Navalny during the mayoral election in Moscow.
Startup StepJockey was registered in London on June 21, 2013 and was engaged in the promotion of a healthy lifestyle among office clerks - through a mobile application motivated them to walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
From the documents it follows that Ashurkov joined the board of directors on September 1, 2015. The amount of his investment was not disclosed, but it is known from Crunchbase's open data that a total of $ 1.7 million (£ 1.32 million) was invested in the startup.
Officially, Ashurkov is not in the lists of co-owners - this means that he could invest through a trust or other agreement with one of the legal shareholders. Based on the documents on his inclusion in the directors, it can be assumed that he invested in the startup no later than 2015.
The reason for the voluntary liquidation is not directly indicated, however, it is clear from the documents that StepJockey has accumulated considerable debt and has shown losses in recent years. The company at the time of closing had £ 633,288 of debt to creditors. The accumulated net loss of the startup by July 2018 amounted to £ 1.3 million.
According to the company itself, it has assets of £ 12,857, which can be used to repay claims of first-priority creditors. Moreover, only arrears of salaries to employees (8 people) is £ 17,741.
* The Anti-Corruption Fund is included in the register of NGOs performing the functions of a foreign agent, by decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation of 09.10.2019.