Former UK prime minister Winston Churchill once famously said that “Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”.

There is something about Peter Levine that engenders a similar mystique — the Russian-speaking chief executive of London-listed junior President Energy mixes the candid with the covert when discussing what has undoubtedly been a colourful business and private life.

Such a dramatic air comes naturally to the 61-year-old.