Finion: reviews & investigation
Finion has been selling residence permits and citizenship programs since 2010. Their office sits in Moscow's Federation Tower, their founder quotes in Forbes, and their marketing promises 100% refunds. One client paid $18,000 and got nothing. That's the gap we're here to examine.
Who is Finion and what do they actually do
Services: Residence permits (VNZ), citizenship programs, visa applications (Schengen, US, UK), foreign bank account and card setup, company registration abroad, financial consulting.
Countries covered: 20+ including Armenia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Hungary, Serbia, Norway, Austria, Italy, Chile, Kyrgyzstan, and UAE.
Founded: 2010 in Vladivostok by Vyacheslav Kartamyshev. Moscow headquarters opened in 2019.
Legal entities: Four active LLCs in Russia, one in Kazakhstan.
Moscow office: Presnenskaya nab. 12, Federation Tower East (floor listed as 50 in marketing, floor 17 in 2GIS).
Phone: 8 (800) 600-38-63, +7 993 927-50-53
Email: [email protected]
Sites: finion.ru, finionpay.ru, finionprivate.com
Key fact: Finion's contracts are structured as "consulting service agreements." That means legally, they may only be liable for delivering information, not for actual government-issued documents. Their marketing says otherwise.
Trust Score
Based on 3.29/5 from aggregated verified data points across multiple review platforms
Who's behind Finion: checking the paperwork
Finion is not one company. It's a group of four Russian LLCs and one Kazakh entity, all tied to founder Vyacheslav Kartamyshev. Here's what the registries show.
Russia (EGRUL)
The original entity is LLC "FINION" (Vladivostok), INN 2536235431, registered November 8, 2010. Listed founder: Kartamyshev Vyacheslav Yuryevich. The company is currently active.
In 2019 a second entity appeared: LLC "FINION" (Moscow), INN 7703471440, registered February 13, 2019. Listed founder: Kartamyshev Vyacheslav Sergeyevich. That's a different patronymic from the Vladivostok entity. The same first name and surname, but a different middle name in state records. This inconsistency is discussed further in the Yellow Flags section below.
Two more entities appeared in August 2023: LLC "FINION PAY" (INN 9703154440, registered August 24, 2023) and LLC "FINION PRIVET" (INN 9703154433, same date). Both are currently active.
Finion also holds an education license (No. L035-01285-25/01006434, issued December 21, 2023). No financial licenses from the Central Bank of Russia appear in public records, and the company does not appear on the CBR's blacklist.
Kazakhstan
A separate entity, TOO "FINION", is registered in Kazakhstan under BIN 180140031830. Finion's website lists an Almaty office, and some client reviews mention Kazakh-based account openings.
Domain check
The Web Archive's CDX API confirms the first snapshot of finion.ru was taken on August 8, 2011. This aligns with the 2010 founding claim. Current WHOIS data for finion.ru can be checked at whois.com. The site runs on Tilda CMS with Cloudflare protection, which is standard for commercial sites of this scale.
Court records
A civil arbitration case (No. A40-12519/2023) names Finion in Moscow court records. No criminal proceedings appear in publicly accessible databases. However, one client publicly claims to have won a court case against the founder personally, a claim that our search of general jurisdiction courts could not confirm or deny, as those records are not fully digitized.
Finion risk analysis: 5 things to know before paying
| Area | Risk | What we found | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | medium | Residence permits from ~240,000 RUB ($2,650). Citizenship programs from 1,500,000 RUB ($16,500). Visas from 30,000 RUB ($330). No public pricing page; all quotes require a consultation call. | Budget range is mid-to-high. Ask for itemized pricing in writing before your first payment. |
| Contract | high | Services are sold under "consulting agreement" contracts. The company's primary legal obligation under this structure is to provide information, not to secure a specific government-issued document. Marketing claims otherwise. | Read the contract before signing. If the deliverable is not explicitly a specific document (residence permit, passport), your legal protection in a dispute is limited. |
| Timelines | medium | Positive reviews cite 4 days (EU Blue Card), 24 days (bank cards), 9.5 months (Bulgarian residence permit), 1 year (Kyrgyzstan citizenship). The anti-scam platform Vlader specifically flags Serbia and Paraguay timelines as unrealistic. | For standard visa and banking services, timelines appear real. For citizenship programs in Latin America or the Balkans, verify with the relevant embassy independently. |
| Risks | high | At least one client reports paying $18,000 with no documents filed and the founder blocking contact. Anti-scam platform Vlader issued a formal warning about Finion's Serbia and Paraguay citizenship programs. Civil arbitration case on record (No. A40-12519/2023). | High-value programs carry the most exposure. If paying more than $1,000, get a clause in the contract that specifies milestones and refund conditions at each stage. |
| Refunds | high | Marketing materials claim a "100% money-back guarantee." In documented client complaints, refund requests went unmet. The company's own representative acknowledged "problematic cases" involving delays in some services. | Don't rely on the marketing claim. Get the refund clause written into your individual contract with specific timelines. Pay in stages, not as a single lump sum upfront. |
Finion: green lights, yellow flags, and red warnings
| ✅ | Verified founding year. The Web Archive's first snapshot of finion.ru dates to August 8, 2011, consistent with the 2010 founding claim. The Vladivostok LLC registration date (November 8, 2010) appears in EGRUL records. |
| ✅ | Public founder with media record. Vyacheslav Kartamyshev is quoted by name in Forbes, RBC, and Kommersant. He does not hide behind anonymous branding. His VK page is publicly accessible. |
| ✅ | Multiple active legal entities. Four Russian LLCs and one Kazakh entity are registered and currently active, verifiable via official state registries. The group is not a one-person shell operation. |
| ✅ | Education license on record. License No. L035-01285-25/01006434 was issued December 21, 2023 by Russian authorities. This does not cover financial or immigration services, but it shows the group pursues formal licensing where required. |
| ✅ | Corporate email and professional infrastructure. The company uses [email protected] and [email protected]. The site runs on Tilda with Cloudflare. These are consistent with a real operating business, not a throwaway operation. |
| ⚠️ | Floor number conflict in address. Marketing materials list floor 50, office 5015. The same building's 2GIS listing shows floor 17, office 15. These are different floors in the same Federation Tower complex. This may reflect a move, but it creates confusion about where you'd actually go. |
| ⚠️ | Federation Tower is Russia's largest virtual office hub. The Presnenskaya nab. 12 address is one of the most popular mass-registration locations in Moscow. Physical office presence there is not guaranteed without a confirmed appointment and in-person visit. |
| ⚠️ | Founder's patronymic differs across registries. The Vladivostok LLC lists "Kartamyshev Vyacheslav Yuryevich." The Moscow LLC lists "Kartamyshev Vyacheslav Sergeyevich." A third variation appears in payment-related reviews. This could be a registry error or a sign of separate persons. Either way, it needs clarification before you hand over large sums. |
| ⚠️ | All contracts are "consulting agreements." Under Russian contract law, a consulting agreement typically obligates the provider to deliver advice, not results. Even if a manager verbally promises a residence permit, the contract may only guarantee a report or a set of documents submitted, not the permit itself. |
| ⚠️ | Payments to personal cards reported. Alongside legitimate corporate account transfers, some clients describe receiving bank card numbers of individuals as payment destinations. Paying to a personal card removes consumer protection rights under Russian law and makes disputes harder to resolve. |
| ❌ | Anti-scam warning: Serbia citizenship program. The Russian anti-fraud resource Vlader (vklader.ru) published a formal warning about Finion's Serbia citizenship offer (marketed via finionpay.ru), citing promised timelines as unachievable under current Serbian law. |
| ❌ | Anti-scam warning: Paraguay citizenship program. Vlader separately flagged a Finion partnership with Alexander Bespalov offering Paraguay citizenship, calling the terms misleading. Paraguay citizenship by investment has specific legal requirements that the program apparently did not accurately represent. |
| ❌ | $18,000 complaint with documented outcome. Client Anton Rovnov publicly reported paying $18,000 under a dual contract with "IP Kartamyshev" and "LLC Finion." He states no documents were filed, all work stopped, and the founder blocked him on messaging apps. This appears on otzyv-rabotnika.ru with the client's real name attached. |
| ❌ | Civil arbitration case on record. Court case No. A40-12519/2023 in Moscow arbitration involves Finion in a civil dispute. Details of the claim are not fully public, but the case's existence shows the company has faced legal action beyond informal complaints. |
What Finion actually charges: the full pricing picture
Finion does not publish a complete price list on its website. Prices come from a mix of confirmed client reviews and pricing pages that appeared on their sites during research. Converting at an approximate rate of 90 RUB to 1 USD:
The company offers installment payment options across most services. That flexibility has been praised in positive reviews. But it also means a client can be 6 months into a payment plan before discovering the service isn't being delivered. Installments are only useful if you also have clear contract milestones tied to each payment.
One client's $18,000 payment to a dual contract (corporate LLC plus an individual entrepreneur linked to the founder) is the highest documented figure in our research. That arrangement, splitting payment between a registered company and a sole trader, is a common structure that can complicate refund claims significantly.
Finion vs competitors: is it worth the price
The highlighted column is the company under review. best = strongest in this row. worst = weakest. mixed = depends on case.
| Parameter | Finion ★ | Henley & Partners | Local immigration attorney | DIY (self-filing) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residence permit price | from $2,650 mixed | from $50,000 expensive | from $2,000 cheapest | Govt fees only, ~$200-500 best |
| Citizenship program price | from $16,500 | from $100,000+ expensive | from $5,000 flat fee cheapest | Not recommended without expert help |
| Timelines (stated) | Days to 12 months mixed | 12-24 months (realistic) | Varies by case | Slowest (no advocacy) worst |
| Public pricing | No (consultation required) worst | Partial | Hourly or flat fee on request transparent | Government fees listed publicly best |
| Anti-scam warnings | Yes (Serbia, Paraguay) flagged | None found clean | Verify bar association license verifiable | N/A |
| Track record | Since 2010, mixed reviews | Since 1997, global reputation longest | Depends on the attorney | You are the track record |
| Physical office confirmed | Moscow (address conflicts) mixed | Verified global offices best | Local, verifiable in person best | N/A |
Prices are approximate and based on publicly available data as of early 2026. Currency conversions use ~90 RUB/USD. Contact each provider directly for current quotes.
What to check before paying Finion anything
- Contract subject: Read what the contract actually says it will deliver. "Consulting services" and "securing a residence permit" are legally different things. If the document you're paying for isn't named in the contract as the deliverable, you have limited recourse if nothing arrives.
- Payment destination: Transfer money only to the corporate bank account of a registered LLC (LLC "FINION," INN 7703471440 for Moscow). Transfers to personal cards or sole trader accounts take you outside consumer protection law and make disputes far harder to win.
- Refund clause: Ask the manager to show you the refund clause before signing. Then ask them to put the specific conditions, timelines, and amounts into your individual contract. A verbal promise or marketing page claim does not hold up in court.
- Registry check: Look up INN 7703471440 in the EGRUL database to confirm the Moscow entity is active and that the name on your contract matches the registry. Do this before, not after, you wire money.
- Anti-scam check for your program: If you're being sold citizenship in Serbia, Paraguay, or another country with known issues, search the country name plus "Finion" plus "Vlader" before signing. Specific citizenship programs have been publicly flagged by anti-scam resources.
- Staged payments: Negotiate to pay in milestone-linked installments rather than a single upfront sum. Tie each payment to a specific, verifiable event (for example, "application submitted to the embassy," confirmed in writing).
- Office visit: Before paying more than $500, request a meeting at their stated address. Bring your document checklist. If they resist in-person meetings or the office does not match what they describe, that is a meaningful signal.
- Independent legal review: For any program costing over $5,000, have a lawyer outside Finion review the contract. An hour of independent legal advice costs roughly $100-300 and could save you a $18,000 loss.
Frequently asked questions about Finion
Is Finion a legitimate company or a scam?
Finion has real legal entities registered in Russia since 2010, a named public founder, and a documented client base. That makes it a real company. But "real" and "safe" are not the same thing. Anti-scam platform Vlader has flagged specific Finion citizenship programs as misleading, and at least one client publicly documented losing $18,000. The company sits in the gray zone: it's not an outright fake, but its practices for high-value programs warrant serious caution.
How much does Finion charge for a residence permit in Europe?
Finion's residence permit services start from approximately 240,000 rubles, which works out to roughly $2,650 at current rates. Specific countries like Bulgaria and Armenia appear in their catalog. The final price depends on the country and your personal situation. They don't publish a full pricing table, so you'll need to request a consultation for an exact quote. Always get that quote in writing.
Does Finion's money-back guarantee actually work?
Their marketing mentions a refund guarantee. In practice, at least one client paid a large prepayment ($18,000) and received neither the service nor a refund, with the founder reportedly blocking contact afterward. The company's representative also acknowledged "problematic cases" with delays in some bank card services. Get any refund clause written into your specific contract, with conditions and timelines defined clearly, before you transfer any money.
What are the biggest risks when working with Finion?
Three main risks stand out. First, the contract structure: most agreements are "consulting service" contracts, which legally may only oblige Finion to provide advice, not to secure a specific document. Second, specific citizenship programs: Serbia and Paraguay offerings have received anti-scam warnings. Third, payment routing: some clients report being directed to pay individual bank cards rather than the registered LLC account, which removes standard consumer protections. High-value programs carry the most exposure.
Who is Alexander Bespalov and what is his connection to Finion?
Alexander Bespalov is listed as a managing partner at Finion and also runs a separate project at bespalov.finance. He was specifically named alongside Finion in Vlader's warning about the Paraguay citizenship program. If a Finion manager introduces you to a program connected to Bespalov or any external partner, verify that partner's credentials and any sub-contracts independently before paying.
Does Finion have real offices outside Russia?
Finion claims offices in Kazakhstan, Armenia, UAE, Germany, Turkey, Georgia, Poland, South Africa, and Northern Cyprus. Verified third-party confirmation (such as Google Maps listings or local registry data) is available for the Kazakhstan entity (TOO "FINION," BIN 180140031830). The other international locations are listed on their website but could not be independently verified through public records during this investigation.
Where can I leave a review about Finion?
You can post your experience with Finion on proverj.com and on migration.us.com, the platform behind this investigation. Migration.us.com collects independent client feedback about immigration companies and does not filter reviews on behalf of the companies being reviewed. Your account, positive or negative, helps others make a more informed decision.
Expert verdict on Finion
I've been in the US immigration business since 2011, and before that I watched the Russian immigration consulting market develop from the inside. What I see with Finion is a pattern I recognize.
The positives are real. A 15-year history with verifiable legal entities, a founder willing to put his name on everything, and a clear product catalog covering 20+ countries. For lower-stakes services (Schengen visas, bank card setup, single-country residence permits), the client reviews suggest the operation actually delivers. That's worth something.
But what concerns me is the gap between the marketing language and the contract language. "100% money-back guarantee" is marketing. "Consulting services agreement" is the contract. When those two things diverge, the contract wins in court every time. I've seen this pattern lead to significant financial losses for clients, even with companies that started as genuine service providers.
The $18,000 complaint is the single most serious data point here. That's not a misunderstanding about timelines. If the account is accurate, money changed hands, no work was done, and contact was blocked. That's a different category of problem. And the Vlader warnings about Serbia and Paraguay citizenship programs add weight to the concern that Finion's sales process may promise outcomes it cannot reliably deliver for certain products.
The patronymic discrepancy across state registries (Yuryevich in one, Sergeyevich in another) might be a clerical error. It might not be. I'd want that explained in writing by the company before I handed over any significant sum. Same goes for the floor number conflict in the Federation Tower address.
My honest read: Finion is probably a working business for straightforward visa and banking services. For second citizenship and golden visa programs, specifically Serbia and Paraguay, I'd look elsewhere until these specific warnings are resolved. And for any program over $2,000, I'd bring an independent lawyer to review the contract first. That hour of external legal review is the cheapest insurance you can buy.
Don't get burned
Marketing pages are written by the company. Reviews are written by people who paid. Read both before you commit to a program that could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Read real reviews about Finion