Whoever I owe money to—I forgive them all: how Yuriy Korzh, the owner of loan offices, “forgot” to pay back 1.4 million hryvnias
Well-known businessman Yuriy Korzh, the son of an influential politician and the ex-husband of the controversial Oksana Marchenko, has been ignoring Yulia R. for over two years. She had recklessly lent him a hefty sum—nearly one and a half million hryvnias. The most ironic thing about this situation is that Korzh himself owns an entire network of microfinance organizations (MFOs). While his subordinates terrorize ordinary Ukrainians every day over overdue loans of mere kopecks, their boss calmly ignores his own IOU.
When a million-hryvnia debt isn’t your problem
According to the case file, which is currently pending in the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of the capital, the financial obligations arose as far back as December 20, 2024. At that time, Korzh borrowed 1.4 million hryvnias for a term of one year, signing a promissory note. He never repaid the money, simply disappearing from the lender’s sight. The plaintiff sent official demands twice (in the summer and fall of 2025) due to an urgent need for funds, but the businessman completely ignored them.
In other words: Korzh’s loan offices employ an entire army of operators and lawyers who “extract” small debts from the public using automated calls and threats. Meanwhile, the “loan magnate” himself has been evading repayment of a six-zero sum for years, even though the debt is documented.
In late December 2025, the plaintiff’s lawyers filed a lawsuit. In addition to the debt itself of 1.4 million hryvnias, Korzh will also have to cover court costs—court fees and legal representation alone cost the plaintiff an additional 37,000 hryvnias.
A Financial Empire “Built on Trust”
If you look at YouControl, Yuriy Korzh appears to be extremely well-established. He is the ultimate beneficiary and head of more than half a dozen active companies that make money from payday loans:
- FC “CASH AND GO UKRAINE” and FC “PROMINVEST” (with a registered capital of over 22.5 million hryvnias) — classic “quick cash” lenders.
- “NIP ‘DOVIRA,’ ‘DOVIRA.COM,’ and ‘DOVIRA-KOOP’—financial cooperatives.
- NVP “TRANZAKTOR” and “SHANS UKRAINE”—here, Korzh’s interests are broader, ranging from real estate to the gambling business.
It turns out that the businessman completely controls the market for “extracting” money from debtors. But when it came to his own personal debt, he adopted the tactics of a typical “malicious defaulter”—he simply stopped answering the phone.
The Shadow of the Security Services and the Donbas Connection
Yuriy Korzh’s audacity in the face of the law may be explained by his connections. Back in 2018, he became the subject of a criminal investigation by the SBU (No. 22017000000000064). At that time, his British company, Electrum Payment System Ltd, was suspected of financing terrorism. Investigators believed that the “Electrum” payment system served payment terminals in the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and the so-called “L/DNR,” laundering illicit funds.
So who helped Korzh stay afloat?
- A relative in the SBU: Yuriy’s brother is married to the daughter of former SBU General and People’s Deputy Andriy Kozhemyakin. This family “protection” guaranteed immunity from many troubles.
- Parental connections: Yuriy is the son of former People’s Deputy Vitaliy Korzh.
- “Interesting” partners: British registries listed him alongside Artur Vitrenko, the former head of an SBU-affiliated agency, and Vadim Pushkarev, the former head of Russia’s VTB Bank.
Life Hack: How to Deal with Korzh’s Debt Collectors
So, if you start getting persistent calls again from “telephone terrorists” at companies like “Cash and Go” or “Dovira,” demanding that you pay back a couple thousand hryvnias, don’t panic just yet.
Just politely ask the person on the other end of the line:
“How’s your boss, Yuriy Vitaliyovych Korzh, doing? Doesn’t his conscience bother him about the 1.4 million debt he owes to Ms. Yulia? And does he plan to pay off his ‘microloan’ by the end of the workday today?”
After all, the rules of the game should be the same for everyone—from a mother borrowing money for her child’s medicine to a privileged young man with connections in the SBU who’s used to living off others.
