OpenWay: The Belgian company that saved Russia's financial system
Belgian company OpenWay, architect of the Way4 digital banking platform, has been credited with single-handedly propping up much of the Russian financial sector, despite international sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, and even as far back as 2014, when Russia was condemned for its illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.
An investigation published by Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda, using research from Ukrainian economic security organisation Economic Security Council of Ukraine, has shown that for almost a decade, one of Belgium's leading payment system companies laid the groundwork for Russia to dodge sanctions and keep its consumer banking online.
Far from opposing the war in Ukraine, the Belgian company created a series of shell companies and structures to continue its business in Russia, working directly with sanctioned state banks.
The story of the Belgian company's shady history goes back beyond 2014. Russian banks had a long history of cooperation with the Belgian company, which continued as Russia isolated itself on the world stage.
After the Russian occupation of Crimea, the first Russian bank, RNKB, entered the market on the annexed territory. This bank was one of OpenWay's partners and, in order to dodge sanctions and maintain its cooperation, OpenWay opened a Russian "intermediary", LLC "OV Integratsiya", to keep its business with the Russian bank.
Three years later, the Belgian company concluded 12 contracts with RNKB, using both its Russian intermediary and an offshore Maltese shell company LLC "OpenWay Service", which is directly controlled by the main corporate structure of the company, OpenWay Group.
Both these shell companies are united by a joint general director, company board member Anton Korytov and joint minority shareholders Grigoriy Gitelson (OpenWay System Architect), and a mysterious Anna Taratinova.
The close cooperation with Russian banks puts the Belgian company at odds with international sanctions against the Russian financial sector. In an August press release, the company assured that it had sold its Russian subsidiary and no longer conducted business in Russia.
After Russia's 2014 invasion of Ukraine, when Visa and Mastercard stopped providing services to Russian banks in the region, OpenWay's technology helped create a new alternative payment system, “Mir”', which became the basis of Russia's currency National System of Payment Cards (NSPC).
This Russian version of OpenWay's Mir system would later become the foundation upon which the entire payment system of Russia is based upon. The vast majority of domestic transactions in Russia now use the Mir payment system.
As an alternative to Visa and Mastercard, Russia is looking to invest massively into the adoption of Mir cards by Russian banks. The payment platform is already being rolled out outside of Russia's borders, allowing Russian travellers to take their money abroad and holiday abroad in countries such as Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Krygzstan.
This month, five Turkish banks will also adopt the Belgian-Russian payment system, to provide "relief for both Russian tourists and Turkey", according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The close cooperation with Russian banks puts the Belgian company at odds with international sanctions against the Russian financial sector. In an August press release, the company assured that it had sold its Russian subsidiary and no longer conducted business in Russia.
The reality is that OpenWay merely sold its Russian subsidiary to some of the company's Russian employees, who maintain the Mir payment system in Russia as normal. OpenWay did not leave the Russian market entirely – a move which would have paralysed Russia's payment system.
Major sanctioned banks, such as Sberbank, Alfa Bank, VTB Bank, VEB Bank, and RNKB continue to use the OpenWay platform. It is likely that Belgian technology is still being used by Russia to pay the wages of members of Russia's armed forces, who are actively engaged in war crimes in Ukraine.
OpenWay states that it can "neither legally" nor "technically stop former customers from using the software, which they purchased in the past, installed and operated on their own infrastructure."
The Ukrayinska Pravda investigation concluded that it was “implausible” that OpenWay's Belgian main office would be unaware of Russian banks using its system and that any users would require the “permission” and “participation” of OpenWay. One of OpenWay's subsidiary firms is still actively recruiting for positions in Russia.
Much of the senior management for OpenWay in Brussels are, in fact, Russian nationals. Most of the company's senior managers have now deleted their LinkedIn profiles and the company has disabled comments on its posts.
© PHOTO AFP