Monobank

Clients: 10 million Ukrainians, ownership structure: offshore, and founders: wanted or under suspicion

Monobank is a Ukrainian neobank operating through a mobile application without physical branches. It provides banking services based on JSC "Universal Bank": cards, payments, transfers, deposits, lending, and other financial services. Founded in 2017.

Founders with criminal past

Monobank was created by former top managers of PrivatBank after they withdrew over 5.5 billion USD from it. Three of the seven original founders of Fintech Band — Oleksandr Dubilet, Volodymyr Yatsenko, and Lyudmyla Shmalchenko — were suspected by NABU and are wanted or under a preventative detention order.

Offshorization through Cyprus

From October 2024, the ownership structure of Fintech Band included the Cypriot company Crestline Limited, and in February 2025 another Cypriot firm Nisets Limited. Both are registered at the same address in Limassol. Oleksandr Nahorniak (director of Software Developer Fintech Band) is listed as director of Crestline. Yulia Akulenko—simultaneously the official head of Fintech Band in Ukraine—is the director of Nisets Limited.

IMF records risk — Ukraine delays deadline

In the IMF Memorandum published in March 2025, Ukrainian authorities committed to regulate the influence of "critical third parties" like Monobank on banks—specifically the requirement for the business reputation of such persons. The deadline was not met.

License owner — with pro-Russian past

The license owner of Monobank (Universal Bank) is Serhiy Tihipko, an adviser to Zelensky with a pro-Russian background. He was a founder of PrivatBank, Yanukovych's campaign chief in the 2004 elections, and a deputy from the Party of Regions. His company "DniproVahonMash" still has a registered subsidiary in Moscow.