After its establishment in 1924, Blackbalsea (Russian: Блекбалси) conducted espionage operations for Soviet Union interests in London. In 1939, the Chekist and later KGB or GRUAndrey Ilyich Dubonosov (Russian: Андрей Ильич Дубоносов; 1900 – 1978) went to London and worked at the Black Sea and Baltic Insurance Company (Blackbaltsea) (Russian: «Блэкбалтси») insuring British shipping to Russia under Lend-Lease until the end of the war in 1945. The staff at Blackbalsea in London worked work closely with the Main Directorate of Soviet Property Abroad (GUSIMZ) (Russian: Главное управление советского имущества за рубежом (ГУСИМЗ)). Previously from 1930 to 1934, Dubonosov was stationed in East Asia as a GRU agent of the Red Army and worked in the Cheka's Special Department (OO) (Russian: Особого отдела (OO)) under the leadership of the military counterintelligence Chekist (Russian: военная контрразведка) Sergei Mikhailovich Shpigelglas (Russian: Сергей Михайлович Шпигельглас; 1897–1941) who, as a member of the Cheka's Special Department (OO), headed its financial department (Russian: начальник сметного (финансового) отдела ОО ВЧК). Dubonosov worked in financial structures first with the Harbin branch of Dalbank and later with the Shanghai branch of Dalbank, which closed in May 1950, during which time he organised London's Moscow Narodny Bank's take over of the two branches, financed Bolshevik activities through gold trading in Shanghai and often met with other members of Soviet intelligence to exchange packages of money in return for packages of information including Richard Sorge, who departed for Moscow on 12 November 1932, the Red Army Military Intelligence resident (Russian: резидентурой Разведупра РККА) K. M. Rimm (Russian: К. М. Римм; 1891–1937) codename "Paul" (Russian: «Паул») until "Paul" departed from Shanghai in August 1933 when Ya. G. Bronin (Russian: Я. Г. Бронин; 1900–1984) codname "Abram" (Russian: «Абрам») became the new resident in the Shanghai. While Dubonosov was in London from 1939 to 1945, he was on the board of directors of London's Moscow Narodny Bank and later, from 1959 to 1967, he returned to London's Moscow Narodny Bank, spearheaded most of the gold trades between the Soviet government and the London gold market and increased the bank's capital to the largest overseas Gosbank. From 1971 to 1874, Dubonosov was chairman of Ost-West Handelsbank in Frankfurt.[2][3][4]
Gosstrakh (Russian: Госстрах) provided insurance support for the Soviet trade mission in Germany, Russia House or Soviet House, also known as the All-Russian Cooperative Limited Liability Company "ARCOS" (Russian: ООО Всероссийское Кооперативное Общество, «АРКОС»), and Tsentrosoyuz in London, and Amtorg in New York with long-term agreements with foreign insurance companies.
