<p>The present invention relates to a process for the cyanation of imines, particularly to the asymmetric cyanation of imines. The Strecker reaction consists of a reaction between an aldehyde and an amine to form an imine, followed by the conversion of the imine to an alpha-amino nitrile by asymmetric catalysis. The present invention relates to a series of vanadium catalysts which allow the reduction of the imine in the Strecker reaction to be performed in good conversion and also with good ee values. The chiral catalysts are of formula (1a) or (1b).</p>
