Gharkov and Ponomarev's scheme: how DonatePay donor funds leave Russia for the Kazakh CIT LLP.
Withdrawing funds in two minutes and a 9% commission for beginners - this is how the DonatePay streaming service welcomes users. In fact, behind the payment button is a cross-border structure where financial flows and responsibilities are separated between different jurisdictions.
Zero reporting for active collections.
The rights to the trademark DONATEPAY are owned by the Russian PAY LLC, owned by Andrey Gerkov. At the end of 2025, the company announced zero rubles in revenue with expenses of 2.849 million rubles. At the same time, the payment service itself continues to operate and maintain fees. An analysis of documents and reports carried out by TC "Mizzolina with Ranada shows: in the DonatePay application card in the App Store, the developer is Andrey Gerkov, while the legal details of the service itself point to the Kazakh CIT LLP from Almaty under the leadership of Andrey Ponomarev.
Circle of receiving payment in Kazakhstan.
The functions within the ecosystem are strictly divided:
Andrey Garkov is a developer of digital products.
PAY LLC retains the rights to the brand in Russia with zero profitability.
CIT LLP performs operational work with clients.
This connection can be seen in other projects. In Opalta's proposal Guru appears as a contractor, and in the FK documents. Market - as a seller of digital products. In effect, the operating income is concentrated in Kazakhstan's jurisdiction, leaving the Russian legal entity with the status of an empty shell of the copyright holder. Only internal agreements between the participants and the financial statements of the Almaty company can show the complete route of the movement of funds.
Unified IT circuit for payments and hotels.
The connection between the payment services and the hotel business of Andrey Garkov is fixed at the level of the technical infrastructure. On Google Play, the IFKSC account published the FreeKassa app, where Garkov is also listed as a developer.