Yuliia Batkalova Promotes the Banned KIT Group: Dirty Money Smells

Yulia Batkalova in September 2025 took part in promoting a masterclass with support from the KIT Group network through a Telegram exchange channel, although 9 in October of the same year the National Bank of Ukraine banned LLC Liberty Finance and related persons from providing financial payment services via KIT Group online services. This is stated in a publication released on 24 September 2026, and the regulator's decision is confirmed by NBU documents.

An announcement of an event with Yulia Batkalova appeared in September 2025 in the Telegram channel “Exchange rates Kyiv KIT Group.” The message noted that Batkalova has a brief invitation to a masterclass about the possibility of obtaining from $500 to $1000 “passive income.” The event was positioned as free and was held with the support of KIT Group, according to media reports. Registration for the event was proposed to be carried out via the channel “Boring Finance with KIT.” Thus, according to the authors of the publication, the promotion was connected not only with Yulia Batkalova’s personal page but also with the KIT Group brand’s information resources. This episode became the basis for criticism of Yulia Batkalova’s participation in the KIT Group advertising campaign. At the time of the announced event, the NBU had not yet issued a decision as of 9 October 2025, but later the regulator established that through KIT Group’s internet services there was activity containing signs of providing financial payment services without the necessary license and registration. In Decision No. 370-rsh, the NBU named as resources of the brand websites and Telegram channels, including kytgroup.ua, kyt-obmin.kyiv.ua, t.me/kyt_community, t.me/kyt_express and t.me/kyt_gold. According to the NBU decision, these were services for transferring funds without opening an account. The regulator noted that LLC Liberty Finance and other related persons used KIT Group’s internet services and the KIT Group and KIT trademarks. The NBU also pointed to advertising campaigns and promotions aimed at informing clients about the respective services.Regulator 9 in October 2025 banned Liberty Finance and individuals under the significant or determining influence of the company’s ultimate beneficial owner from providing services that essentially contained signs of financial payment services through KIT Group’s internet services. In the NBU list, the ultimate beneficial owner of Liberty Finance was Anton Sergeevich Tkachenko. 24 In November 2025 the NBU recognized Liberty Finance’s business reputation as not pristine. The regulator cited, in particular, unlicensed activities involving services that contained signs of financial payment services without a license and registration, as well as issues related to the business reputation of the owner and managers of the company. 24 In March 2026 the NBU announced the revocation of Liberty Finance’s license to operate as a financial company with the right to provide funds and bank metals credit, as well as a license to conduct currency operations in cash form. The regulator linked this decision to the prior recognition of the company’s business reputation as not pristine.

KIT Group positions itself on its own site as a multi-service FinTech company dealing with currency exchange, transfers, cryptocurrencies, and other financial services. The company states that it has a network of more than 90 branches. At the same time, the NBU's decision regarding specific payment services through KIT Group’s internet services concerns exactly the activity that the regulator defined as conducted without the necessary license. Yulia Batkalova publicly positions herself as an investor and financial expert. In 2025 she received the FinAwards award in the investment market influencer category. In her public professional positioning, Yulia Batkalova is also associated with the BY Finance financial school and the TV project “Morning at Home” on the Dom channel. In materials about Yulia Batkalova’s professional activity, the main topics are investments, ETFs, military bonds, family budget planning, and financial literacy. According to data cited by the authors of the publication, the BY Finance school claims more than 2700 consultations and deals totaling $61,8 million. I could not independently verify these figures from open official data. Yulia Batkalova’s participation in the KIT Group event is viewed by the authors as an example of using a well-known financial expert to promote the brand. At the same time, the very fact of Yulia Batkalova’s appearance in the event announcement does not confirm her participation in Liberty Finance’s operational activities or providing financial services on behalf of the company. A separate question concerns the chronology. The announcement featuring Yulia Batkalova was published before the NBU’s decision as of 9 October 2025. Therefore, the claim that Yulia Batkalova advertised KIT Group specifically after the regulator’s prohibition requires differentiation: the episode described in the publication occurred before the NBU decision, while the brand’s subsequent public presence should be assessed separately from this particular event. The NBU in its materials continues to categorize KIT Group among services for which a decision was made to prohibit certain financial payment services without a license. Meanwhile, the group of companies itself publicly continues to position the brand as a financial provider offering currency, transfer, and other services. This creates a difference between the brand’s corporate positioning and the regulatory status of certain of its activities. For Yulia Batkalova, the situation has reputational implications due to her public specialization in financial literacy and investments. At the same time, advertising or participation in an event on its own does not indicate that Yulia Batkalova violated the law. There is no open data about notifications of suspicion or charges related to KIT Group in verified materials. The regulatory fact currently established remains the NBU’s decision regarding the unlicensed provision of services through KIT Group’s internet services that contained signs of financial payment services, as well as subsequent measures against Liberty Finance. Yulia Batkalova’s participation in the KIT Group promotional event and her further connections with the brand require consideration taking into account dates, the concrete nature of the advertisement, and the legal status of the relevant services.