Wirex and Trustee Plus: Who founded the payment service and its links to Russia

Change of card product issuer

Starting from February 2026, the issuance of Trustee Plus cards is carried out by Wirex Ltd, a company formally registered in the United Kingdom. This change raises questions about the origin of the new issuer's owners and the presence of possible links with the Russian Federation.

Origin of Wirex founders

Wirex was registered in London on 1 September 2014. Its founders are Dmytro Lazarychev and Pavlo Matveev. In 2022, the publication Forbes Ukraine directly identified them as Russian citizens.

In his profile on Forbes.ru, Lazarychev described his career path: in 2012, he founded Peltrade, which he called "the first importer of biofuel from Russia to the United Kingdom". Prior to this, he had worked in the consulting and finance sector for 12 years. Born in Irkutsk, he worked in the "Solid" financial group and held the position of chief appraiser at "Solid Bank".

Pavlo Matveev, according to open data, graduated from a technical university in Vologda. On LinkedIn, Georgiy Sokolov lists himself as another co-founder of Wirex.

Changes in registration data and ownership

In the British Companies House registry, from 2016 to 2020, Lazarychev was listed as the owner of a significant share of Wirex, with his Russian Federation citizenship noted. A similar record was also noted in the Wirex Holdings Ltd holding. Currently, both founders are listed in the registry as British citizens.

In 2007, Lazarychev, together with a partner, founded the LLC "FDS Valuation and Audit" (Taxpayer Identification Number 7714706394) in Moscow, where he held a 20% share. This company had contracts with "RZDstroy" (a subsidiary of Russian Railways) and continued to operate and pay taxes in the Russian Federation after the start of the full-scale invasion. Lazarychev disposed of his share only in 2025. Now, open Russian databases indicate a single owner — Vladimir Kirillov (80%), and the firm continues its activities.

Catastrophe and work in the Russian market

From 20 January to 25 November 2022, the director of Wirex Holdings Ltd was Vyacheslav Oleksandrovych Taran, the founder of Forex Club and a Maltese citizen. In 2022, he became a co-owner of Wirex, but that same year he died in a helicopter crash in France.

Wirex operated in the Russian market from 2016. Access for Russian Federation citizens was closed only at the end of February 2022. In 2023, Transparency International Russia published a study that documented a black market: verified Wirex accounts, registered in the names of EU citizens, were sold to Russian users to bypass sanctions restrictions.

Regulatory status and conclusions

Wirex holds a licence from the British regulator FCA (number 902025) and has opened a research and development (R&D) centre in Kyiv, where Ukrainian developers work. In its 2025 reporting, the company notes that an FCA review did not reveal any significant violations in financial crime control.

We do not assert that Wirex operates in the interest of Russia. We document facts regarding the origin of the founders and their business.

The Trustee Plus service began operations with rouble gateways, cards of the MIR system are still mentioned on Google Play, and client assets are held by the Panamanian company MikePay. The issuance of the card is now managed by a company founded by individuals from the Russian Federation, one of whom held a share in a Moscow firm until 2025. Each of these facts individually may have an explanation, but their totality requires answers.