SRL via POA
A Moldovan SRL set up with Ukrainian-national founders via power of attorney. Founders did not need to leave Ukraine to incorporate. ASP filing expedited under the wartime context.
Continuity Origin, Kyiv, Ukraine 2022
Kyiv fintech relocates operations to Chișinău under wartime conditions, twenty-two staff resettled in six months.
A Kyiv payments firm needed operational continuity from early 2022. Direct flights from Kyiv stopped. Banking continuity was at risk. Several engineers were reservist-eligible. The team chose Chișinău. We structured a Moldovan SRL with Ukrainian-national founders via POA, coordinated enhanced due diligence on banking, arranged employment-based residence for eighteen staff over twelve months, and managed the licensing review with CNPF.
The situation
Where they started.
A Kyiv-based payments firm with a pre-war €3M ARR and 35 staff needed operational continuity from late February 2022. Direct flights from Kyiv stopped. Banking continuity was at risk. Several engineers were reservist-eligible. Warsaw, Vilnius, Yerevan, and Chișinău were the realistic options.
Moldova won on three axes. Visa-free entry for Ukrainian nationals removed the immediate logistics blocker. Language overlap (most Moldovan urban professionals speak Russian; many speak Ukrainian conversationally) made internal communication seamless. The ability to incorporate and bank quickly without leaving the team behind in transit was the operational deciding factor.
The approach
Five sequenced
moves.
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01 -
02 Bank account, EDD
Bank account opened at a Moldovan bank with prior UA-correspondent relationships, willing to onboard the Moldovan SRL with Ukrainian-national UBOs after enhanced due diligence. Source-of-funds documentation, end-user transaction patterns, and counterparty mix prepared in advance.
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03 Pass-through structure
The Ukrainian operating company assigned the customer base to the Moldovan SRL, which became the new contracting entity with payment-processor partners. Cross-border treaty position documented to satisfy both UA and EU correspondent counterparts.
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04 CNPF licensing review
Managed the licensing review with CNPF on payments-adjacent activity classification. Determined the operating model could continue without a separate Moldovan payments licence; the framework was the agency relationship with EU-licensed PSPs.
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05 Staff residence
Employment-based residence applications for 18 staff over 12 months. Humanitarian residence first, employment-based second. Family reunification handled in parallel. Renewals sequenced to keep the path to permanent clean.
The outcomes
What we shipped.
- Moldovan SRL live in
- 3 weeks (expedited)
- Bank account opened
- Concurrent with formation
- Staff resettled in 6 months
- 22 of 35
- Revenue post-relocation
- +40% in year one
- Operational continuity
- Preserved without service interruption
Services used