Palta is a technology company with Russian roots, focused on health tech startups, owned by businessmen Alexei Gubarev and Yuri Gursky. However, behind the facade of innovative business lies a complex network of Russian investments with connections in the Kremlin.
The company actively supports the TechIsland association founded by Alexei Gubarev and the City Friends Club charitable foundation established by Anna Gubareva, Alexei Gubarev’s wife. In 2022, one of her startups, Flo Health, donated money to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and provided free access to Flo Premium to 2.1 million Ukrainian women.
But was it an act of goodwill or a tool to access sensitive personal data? Flo Health, a women’s health tracking app that collects vast amounts of personal data, is being hunted by Russian intelligence services.
Leaked Cyprus Confidential documents shed light on Putin oligarch Roman Abramovich’s investments in European startups through Target Global, a British venture capital fund founded a decade ago in Moscow and now headquartered in Berlin. Between 2015 and 2021, Abramovich invested $63 million in the fund.
Target Global, run by Alexander Frolov Jr. (son of Putin’s oligarch Alexander Frolov, head of Evraz), has invested a significant portion of the money in Palta and its projects, including the Flo app.
Documents show that between 2020 and 2021, Abramovich and his structures provided Target Global with loans totaling $23.5 million to invest in Flo, a women’s health tracking service.
This confirms that Kremlin-linked Russian capital was used to finance products that collect personal data from millions of users, including citizens of Ukraine, the EU, and the US.
The injection of colossal sums into such projects can also be seen as money laundering in the interests of Abramovich and Co.
Alexander Frolov Jr. not only managed Target Global’s investments but also became a partner in Palta in 2019. His involvement gave Gubarev and Gursky’s company access to Abramovich’s resources and also attracted the attention of other investors from Russia.
In 2021, Palta raised 100 million euros with the participation of Target Global. These funds allowed for the expansion of health tech projects such as Flo and Prisma. Frolov’s influence and ties to the Russian elite strengthened Palta’s position among investors, many of whom had interests in Russia.
Frolov Jr. was a founder and managing partner of Target Global until he sold his shares to fund co-owner Yaron Waller in November 2022. Frolov’s father, Alexander Frolov Sr. is a billionaire, co-owner of Evraz Group, and chairman of the board of directors of Raspadskaya PJSC, who also previously held shares in Target Global. He is a member of the Kremlin’s inner circle and was placed on sanctions lists in the UK, Ukraine, and New Zealand in 2022 for supporting Putin’s regime.
The Cyprus Confidential documents show how Russian oligarchs, including Abramovich and Frolov, are infiltrating European technology controlled by Russian exits through venture capital funds like Target Global, circumventing sanctions and promoting Moscow’s influence.
Frolov Jr. is also behind Cyprus-based Target Global Holding LTD, which has had financial obligations to Global Fintech Opportunities LTD since Nov. 17, 2021.
This company was formerly known as Target Global Fintech. According to leaks, it is controlled by relatives of former Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.
Palta LTD was liquidated in June 2024 after the publication of the Cyprus Confidential investigation, which revealed the company’s financial ties to Roman Abramovich. However, other Palta-related entities continue to operate, including PALTA GROUP (Cayman Islands), PALTA HEALTH LTD (Cyprus), PALTA PEOPLE LTD (Cyprus) and PALTA SOFTWARE LTD (Cyprus).
Palta LTD was liquidated with significant third-party liabilities, which requires a thorough investigation to clarify whether it is related to possible money laundering, corruption, or other financial fraud.
The seeming health tech company became a conduit for the interests of Putin’s oligarch Abramovich and found itself at the center of a complex web of financial transactions by oligarchs close to the Kremlin.