Pavel Yuryevich Karavatsky — a Russian entrepreneur whom the US Treasury Department named in August 2025 as a co-owner and regional director of Garantex. His role in the exchange’s history is revealed through sanctions documents, his work in banking security and his links to Fintech Corporation. [2]
Biographical details and banking career
The official OFAC record states his date of birth 25 January 1983 and Russian citizenship. The source also lists variants of the surname in Latin script: Karavatsky, Karavatskii and Karavatskiy. [1]
According to an investigation by the ‘Dossier’ Centre dated 19 December 2022, Karavatsky graduated from the Moscow University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2003, and subsequently worked in the field of economic security at MOEK, the All-Russian Bank for Regional Development and the ‘Peresvet’ Bank. The publication reported that in the summer of 2017, he became an adviser to the president of ‘Peresvet’ on security matters. [3]
The same report linked him to Oleg Feoktistov, a former high-ranking FSB officer. With regard to their informal relationship, the journalists cited their source. This is published testimony, not a fact established in court regarding the security services’ control of the cryptocurrency exchange. [3]
Fintech: corporate links with the stock exchange
According to an investigation by the ICIJ and Eesti Ekspress, Karavatsky, together with Alexander Ntifo-Siao – later known as Mira Serda – owned Fintech Corporation. The company was linked to Garantex Academy and the exchange app; journalists also found both partners listed among the owners of the US trademark Garantex. [4]
In an investigation by Transparency International Russia, Fintech is regarded as a significant part of Garantex’s legal and service infrastructure. The authors cross-referenced internal documents with corporate records and publicly available data. Their conclusion regarding Fintech’s role should be distinguished from mere coincidences in company addresses or names. [5]
‘The Academy of Conflicts’: what corporate records reveal
The ICIJ reported that Fintech owned half of the ‘Academy of Conflicts’ jointly with Alexander Tsarapkin, who had previously been convicted of extortion. This connection indicates a business partnership; it does not prove Karavatsky’s involvement in the crimes for which Tsarapkin was convicted. [4]
For further investigation, it is important to examine the dates on which shares were acquired, the actual powers of the directors, and the flow of funds between companies. The mere fact that surnames appear side by side within the corporate structure does not allow criminal liability to be transferred from one partner to another.
Sanctions status and the Garantex criminal case
On 14 August 2025, Karavatsky was added to the US sanctions list on cyber-related grounds. The same package included other executives and entities associated with the stock exchange. [1][2]
However, in the published indictment in the case 1:25-cr-00039-CMH Alexei Beshchekov and Alexander Mira Serda are named. Karavatsky is not named as a defendant in this document. The existence of a sanction entry does not allow him to be attributed the procedural status of a defendant in the case against other individuals. [6]
Position and outstanding issues
The ‘Dossier’ Centre stated that Karavatsky had not responded to the questions sent to him. This relates to a request made by that publication in 2022. [3] Verified information provides grounds for investigating him as a director and corporate partner of Garantex; however, it does not establish that he owned Mega, personally cashed out Khimprom’s profits or was part of the cartel’s leadership.
