Simexco and Simex were the names of two black market trading companies that were created in 1940 and 1941, respectively in Brussels and Paris on the orders of Red Army Intelligence officer Leopold Trepper, for the express purpose of acting as cover for a Soviet espionage group that operated in Europe, and was later called the Red Orchestra ("Rote Kapelle") by the Abwehr. Simexco In the autumn of 1940, the Simexco firm was established by GRU officer Anatoly Gurevich and Belgian businessman Nazarin Drailly, who was the firms main shareholder. The firm was officially registered by March 1941, when it opened in two offices at 192 Rue Royale in Brussels. Simexco was established as a replacement cover organisation when the Brussels rain-ware export company known as the Foreign Excellent Raincoat Company was sequestered on 17 May 1940 after the occupation of Brussels, as its owner Léon Grossvogel was Jewish. Simexco was established as a genuine business with an absolutely firm legal status that was recognised as conservative in its approach by German service departments. On the recommendation of the administrative staff at the Abwehr IIIF. Ast. military command, it even been granted long distance, telegram communication, telephone and fax facilities by the German authorities that provided a regular and privileged way for Trepper and Gurevich to communicate. Gurevich became a director of the business. According to the article of incorporation, the main investor was Nazarine Drailly, a Belgian communist and informer, who invested 218,500 Belgian Francs in the firm. Drailly was fully aware of the companies true purpose and actively took part in operations. Drailly's brother, Charles Drailly, a banker, became a commercial director of the firm in March 1941. He was almost certainly aware of the nature of the firm, but maintained his distance in his role as a director, never taking part in espionage operations. Margarete (or Marguerite) Barcza, the daughter of a Czech millionaire, who lived with Gurevich, helped to find additional shareholders among her bridge club. These shareholders were Florida nightclub owner, Robert Christen, travelling salesman Jean Passelecq, the publisher Henri de Ryck, who was a friend of Gurevich and Henri Seghers, the owner cigarette factory. Simex In autumn 1940, Simex opened its office, in two rooms above the Le Lido next to 78 Champs-Élysées in Paris, and opposite the offices of Organisation Todt, the German military engineering organisation, who would become its best customer. It