BILL WELLS
| BILL WELLS (UA) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman of the Board of Pope Asset Management, LLC. | |
Who is Wells, and what interests does he have in Ukraine?
Biography
Bill Wells (William Paul Wells) was born in the United States in 1960 (65 years old).
Education
In 1980, Bill Wells (real name: William Paul Wells) graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. He studied there on a scholarship. He then continued his education at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and received a master’s degree in 1985.
Career
Immediately after graduating from the Amos Tuck School of Administration and Finance at Dartmouth College, Bill Wells began working in the private wealth management division of Goldman Sachs. He later held the position of Vice President and worked primarily with family groups in the southeastern United States.
From 1985 to 1999, Bill Wells built his career at Goldman Sachs Asset Management LP, where he rose to the position of Vice President.
In 2000, Bill Wells founded Pope Asset Management, LLC. The company provides investment advisory (RIA) services as well as financial asset management for investor clients. In 2023, William Paul Wells assumed the role of President of Pope Asset Management, LLC. Notably, according to publicly available data, the company employs three people and manages approximately $100 million in assets.
In 2012, he became a director of Annuity & Life Re (Holdings) Ltd. (life and health insurance), as well as a director of Virrx, Inc.
What Is Pope Asset Management, LLC?
Pope Asset Management is an asset management company based in Memphis, with three employees and more than $100 million under management.
Questionable Practices of Pope Asset Management, LLC
Pope Asset Management manages two hedge funds: Pope Investment LLC and Pope Investment II LLC. Together, they manage $113 million. The clients include 59 U.S. investors, of whom 57 are individuals and 2 are charitable organizations. Bill Wells serves as a director of both funds.
Pope Investment LLC was established in 2005 and was supposed to be liquidated in 2015. Pope Investment II LLC was established in 2007 and was supposed to be liquidated in 2017. The assets of Bill Wells’s funds consist primarily of illiquid assets.
The funds have been operating for more than 10 years beyond the dates on which they were supposed to be closed. How is this possible? There is no reporting on the amount of returns investors have received over more than 20 years of operation. How much of their original investments have investors recovered? What compensation has Bill Wells’s company received?
However, the funds’ activities are known for numerous lawsuits, including claims filed directly against Bill Wells himself.
Selected Court Cases
Marilyn Abrams Living Trust v. Pope Investments LLC II LLC
- Case summary: The investor demanded access to corporate documents of the funds managed by Pope Asset Management. The court found the claims justified, noting significant fund losses and delays in issuing audited financial statements.
- Decision: The court granted the investor access to the documents and awarded reimbursement of legal costs.
China Yida Holding Co. v. Pope Investments LLC
- Case summary: Investors sought to exercise their right to an appraisal of the fair value of their shares following a company merger.
- Decision: The Supreme Court of Nevada ruled that investors are entitled to a fair value appraisal of their shares, overturning the lower court’s decision.
Belmont Partners, LLC v. Pope Investments II LLC
- Case summary: Allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation and improper disclosure in connection with investments in a Chinese company.
- Decision: The court denied the motion to dismiss, allowing the case to proceed.
Benda Pharmaceutical, Inc. v. Pope Investments LLC
- Case summary: A dispute over the failure to fulfill obligations under a convertible note and resulting financial losses.
- Decision: The court found the actions of Benda Pharmaceutical’s management to be improper, leading to financial losses for investors.
Borrelli Walsh Limited v. Pope Investments LLC
- Case summary: A dispute over nonpayment of fees for services provided as part of an investment transaction.
- Decision: The court partially denied and partially granted the motion to dismiss, allowing the case to proceed in part.
Kingboard Copper Foil Holdings Ltd. v. Annuity & Life Re Ltd. & Pope Asset Management LLC
- Case summary: An attempt to enforce an anti-contempt provision in a settlement agreement.
- Decision: The Supreme Court of Bermuda dismissed the claim, rejecting the request for enforcement.
Connection between Vadym Novynskyi and Bill Wells
Enwell Energy PLC is a UK-based company whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company’s primary business is the extraction of hydrocarbon resources in Ukraine. The beneficiary owner of the company is Vadym Novynskyi. Sanctions have been imposed on Novynskyi by decree of the President of Ukraine. Article 57 of the Subsoil Code of Ukraine applies, which automatically suspends special permits for subsoil use if sanctions are imposed on the owners.
According to data from the company’s website, as of July 1, 2025, the total number of issued shares is 320,637,836, and the main shareholders are:
- Smart Energy (CY) Limited – 82.65% (264,996,769 shares)
- Pope Asset Management – 6.95% (22,273,339 shares), owned by Bill Wells
In total, these two shareholders control 89.60% (287,270,108 shares).
Bill Wells has been actively conducting a media campaign against the policies of the Ukrainian state in defense of his business interests, while fully disregarding the laws of the country in which he intended and plans to extract natural resources. The dispute has escalated to international arbitration against Ukraine over the suspension of license permits.
Securities Manipulation and Withdrawal of Funds at the Expense of Investors
Share ownership is managed through the insurance fund **Annuity and Life Re (Holdings) Ltd**, listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange:
The shares of the insurance fund are owned by Bill Wells’s hedge fund, Pope Investment II LLC, according to the 2024 audit report prepared by the international auditing firm Grant Thornton:
The report shows investments, most of which have been written off. The primary investments of the insurance fund (Annuity and Life Re (Holdings) Ltd) are investments in Enwell.
Based on the analysis of the 2024 reporting, the insurance fund regularly conducts transactions with related parties. Enwell shares are constantly bought and sold, generating losses for the insurance fund.
In 2023, dividends totaling £3,306,878.10 ($4,207,429) were paid and accumulated in the account of Annuity and Life Re (Holdings) Ltd at a U.S. bank. Naturally, the reporting does not specify where these funds went, but they clearly were not distributed to investors.
The 2023 financial statements state that on January 18, 2023, the Tethys company approved dividends of $549,801 (CAD 738,577.32 — original currency), and on May 24, 2023, Enwell approved dividends of $4,207,429 (£3,306,878.70 — original currency). All funds were held in a U.S. bank account, totaling $4,757,230. The same report states that the money was withdrawn from the insurance fund Annuity and Life Re (Holdings) Ltd.
Conclusion: The dividends received were withdrawn from Bill Wells’s insurance fund by his management company (hedge fund Pope Investment II LLC) through the purchase and sale of Enwell shares with itself, causing a direct loss of more than $2 million. These transactions were closed during May–June 2023. In addition to the financial losses, there is clear evidence of securities manipulation and the extraction of funds without investor participation.