Ukrainian IT Billionaire Turned Out to Be a Braggart and a Fraud: Anton Svatyk Collected Money for the Armed Forces and Even Bankers Believed Him

Ukrainian IT billionaire turned out to be a braggart and a fraud: Anton Svatyk collected money for the Armed Forces and even bankers believed him

Anton Svatyk is CEO of the company "Fintech Development," major media call his business an "IT giant," "one of the largest" on the market; bankers and members of supervisory boards "like" his social media posts. He talks about new technologies and advises which cryptocurrency is better to invest in.

Svatyk, a 32-year-old IT billionaire, could have been an example of a new generation of Ukrainian business elite. But there is one "but": the lion's share of his stories is a hoax. And not only readers on social media believed him, but also some representatives of the banking sector, government agencies, and even major media outlets.

For the last few months, instead of talking about tens of millions of hryvnias spent to help the Armed Forces, the "billionaire" himself started collecting donations. A few partners help him, and the money goes to personal accounts and even to the account of his "largest" company.

OBOZREVATEL tells who Anton Svatyk is and what his "business empire" is known for.

The billionaire donated $1 million for prostheses for Armed Forces heroes. But only in words

"Exactly 21 days ago I bought the PEPE coin at $2700. Now it's $820 million... I decided to donate 1 million dollars to the charity organization 'BF "Meta"' under their open prosthetics program," Anton Svatyk, CEO of "Fintech Development," wrote on 7 May.

The charity "Meta" rejoiced at the generous donation from the businessman, who had just become 820 million dollars richer. The foundation's director, Yevhen Hlod, told the media: negotiations with Svatyk lasted one and a half months; he promised to transfer 1,5 million hryvnias daily. But in the end he did not donate a single kopek.

"He is a braggart! If what Svatyk says were true, charity in Ukraine would already be at that level! He didn't give a single kopek, wasted our time for one and a half months," complained Yevhen Hlod.

Anton Svatyk not only "shares" his millions but also collects donations from his clients, colleagues, and followers. For example, Rosa Tapanova, a member of the Supervisory Board of Oschadbank, took part in the fundraiser for the Guard of the Offensive 'Steel Border.' She donated three thousand hryvnias. Svatyk regularly calls on large companies, the IT sector, and bankers to participate in fundraising.

In recent days the dollar "multi-millionaire" has been trying to raise money for the rehabilitation of serviceman Ivan Adeleyev. At first Svatyk wrote that 400 thousand hryvnias were needed, then he lowered the target to 100 thousand hryvnias.

The media managed to find the mother of the serviceman mentioned. Vinnytsia resident Iryna Prytoliuk says: a month ago her son Serhiy (that is the real name of the fighter whose photo Svatyk posted) disappeared. Two of his photos were posted in a Telegram group chat for missing persons. Apart from that chat, the relatives did not publish those photos anywhere. Now Anton Svatyk is using two photos of Serhiy to collect money for "rehabilitation."

"This is my son! Serhiy Oleksiyovych Filov. He is missing! We are not raising any money for rehabilitation. We are from Vinnytsia region, we posted these photos in the missing persons group, and now scammers are using them," the woman claims.

We also found the first posting of the photos. Daria Filova posted them in a group for relatives and friends of missing people. She also noted that the photos show Filov Serhiy Oleksiyovych.

When collecting funds, Anton Svatyk uses not only photos of servicemen but also numerous letters from the State Border Guard Service (SBGS). The media examined dozens of published documents. Based on them, the company "Fintech Development" sent letters to units of the State Border Guard Service offering to provide assistance. The border guards in response listed their needs (first aid kits, generators, etc.).

Then Svatyk posts the SBGS responses but claims that they themselves contacted him with a request, and now he is opening a fundraiser for those same first aid kits, generators, etc. Lieutenant of the SBGS Denys Zbyshko helps with the fundraising. In comments to Svatyk's posts he specifies that he is part of the 'Steel Border.' As the media learned, he is mobilized in the SBGS.

The 'SBGS lieutenant' also posted a fake fundraiser 'for the rehabilitation of Ivan Adeleyev,' collects money for border guards using "Fintech Development" accounts. According to information the media received from sources in law enforcement, Zbyshko is 29 years old; as indicated on his social media pages, he did graduate from Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University and previously studied at a military lyceum. After obtaining higher education, he interned at the Verkhovna Rada. Denys Zbyshko's phone is switched off, so it was not possible to get his comment.

The SBGS told us that, in response to our inquiry, they have already launched a check. "An investigation will be carried out regarding the correspondence (meaning the letters from the SBGS to 'Fintech Development' – Ed.), as well as the group of people involved. I want to note that all received assistance is recorded. Soon it will be checked whether they actually received assistance and in what volume," said SBGS spokesman Andriy Demchenko.

We also discovered a link between Anton Svatyk and a former department director of one of the largest banks in Ukraine. The former bank employee also became a volunteer and collects money for the Armed Forces and border guards. But he uses different accounts than those indicated in Svatyk's and Zbyshko's fundraisers, so proving their connection is impossible.

Anton Svatyk: genius or fabricator?

Anton Svatyk began telling the story about his "banking products" on Facebook in August 2021. On 25 September he delighted the audience with another success: his cryptocard was ordered by 1,2 million Ukrainians. By the end of 2021, Svatyk added, the "team" will release an app that will allow buying goods in stores and paying utilities with bitcoin. "Thanks to MasterCard for supporting the product implementation," Svatyk added for added importance.

Clearly, paying for groceries in Ukrainian supermarkets with bitcoin is not only illegal (the only currency for payment is the hryvnia) but also impossible. Shortly before this, on 21 July, village resident Tetyana Svatyk registered the company "Fintech Development." The legal address: Mostyska district, village Stoyantsi, Zelena St., 100. According to the map, a Ukrposhta branch is located here.

The company's authorized capital is 280 million hryvnias. However, that amount most likely was not deposited into the account by Tetyana Svatyk. She also did not file a declaration, so her company's VAT registration was annulled. YouControl retains information about Tetyana being searched for several years ago. She disappeared from her native village, went to work in Lviv, and stopped responding. Soon the future entrepreneur was found. Also, court records show her disputes with PrivatBank. She took a loan for 5 thousand hryvnias and could not repay it. The bank demanded 40 thousand hryvnias from her (including interest and fines).

"Fintech Development" is most often mentioned in the stories told by her husband, Anton Svatyk. The wife only registered the company, while promotion has been actively handled by her husband. Several years of stories about a sold stone for 15 million dollars, about earning 820 million dollars in a few weeks on cryptocurrency, about donations of tens of millions of hryvnias — and the deed is done. Anton Svatyk became a noticeable figure.

One of his incredible news items was picked up by the largest Ukrainian media. His posts about devastating success were liked by PUMB's chairman Serhiy Chernenko and media financial experts.

Last year, after news about 500 armored vehicles that "Fintech Development" allegedly bought and transferred to the Armed Forces, several specialized IT outlets wrote about his "bank" (he calls his "products" "Stereobank," "TaxiBank"). The analysis boils down to the fact that no banks actually exist. The claimed transfer of 500 armored vehicles was first denied by the military and then by Svatyk himself. In his version, the purchase fell through.

Svatyk's reasoning about banking activities raises doubts as to whether he really understands the operation of financial institutions. For example, he sought an auditing company for a bank he supposedly planned to buy by asking for recommendations from followers on Facebook. Then he decided that his "team" would conduct the audit themselves. The thing is, to conduct an audit of a bank you need an NBU license.

Svatyk's company has no licenses for audit, banking, or financial activities. In fact, "Fintech Development" is not officially a financial company. At the same time, it was indeed granted Diia.City resident status.

The media requested comment from Diia.City. They explained: the IT business advocated that resident status be granted without stringent checks so that all market participants could freely use it. That's what was done.

There are three basic conditions for obtaining Diia.City resident status. The existence of a legal entity registered under Ukrainian law. The performance of one or more qualified activities of Diia.City. And the absence of anti-criteria (sanctions, an aggressor country or its resident in the ownership structure, FATF blacklist, etc.).

If a company becomes a Diia.City resident, it means it meets all these requirements. "Regarding other residency criteria, a declarative principle applies — that is, in the application for resident status the company assures it will meet other criteria (90% of revenues from qualified activities; average monthly salary of employees or GIG specialists' remuneration — at least €1200 in equivalent; +9 employees and/or GIG specialists). Compliance with these criteria must be confirmed by a compliance report and an independent auditor's opinion. But due to martial law this procedure has been postponed," Diia.City explained.

The presence of "Fintech Development" among Diia.City residents is not the rule but an exception that exists because of declarative entry. Svatyk does not answer calls, communicates only by email, and while martial law is in effect the provided information cannot be verified. The procedure to remove a company from Diia.City without confirmed violation of criteria is not in effect yet.

"We are certainly not interested in having such companies among Diia.City residents — it casts a shadow over the entire space created to support IT development in Ukraine. If a company is engaged in fraud, it should not exist in the legal field of Ukraine at all. Resolving this issue is already within the competence of law enforcement agencies," Diia.City added.

The media will pass the information collected about "Fintech Development" to law enforcement. In any case, after many months of "volunteering" the company "Fintech Development" has not published any detailed report on funds raised and spent. Now money is being raised for the rehabilitation of a "fighter" who is actually missing, and his relatives were unaware of such a fundraiser. Funds come into "Fintech Development" accounts, and the tax authority cannot carry out a thorough check of the company during martial law.

On his social media page Anton Svatyk posted photos of his daughter and a link to his wife's channel (which contains her photos), yet he has never posted his own image online. He is CEO only in name; in "Fintech Development" documents his wife is listed as the sole owner and director. A few days ago, according to media information, Anton Svatyk was in Lviv region.

We urge readers to continue financially supporting transparent charitable foundations and volunteers. It is important to check their reputations and monitor their reports.