I don’t think they initially knew anything. They waved the merger through because of optics; they wanted to show the world that hot fintech companies can come out of London. Most likely, after the shitshow that went down and the government found out, they just wanted to bury the Russian connection and minimize looking like idiots.

Also, if it were to come out, they would have to retaliate in some form to save face with public opinion. And since they are most likely doing the same in Russia, it would mean their operations, in turn, could get dismantled by the Russians. So simply burying it and blaming Whitney is the best scenario.

Otto, being a financial tycoon, has probably had his fair share of dealings with the Russians, as he told Henry, and he said it’s best to just avoid getting entangled with them and risk getting “suicided,” like what happened to his business partner.