A Russian IT company Nazareth Capital faced a substantial salary debt, with employees awaiting about 59 million rubles. The founder and chairman, Vadim Nazaret, reportedly relocated to the United Arab Emirates. This information emerged from reporting by CHNews based on accounts from former staff members of the firm.
Witnesses say the documented salary arrears stand at 58.5 million rubles, covering the period from January 2022 through August 2022. The debt affects all 44 employees, with amounts owed ranging from roughly 120 thousand rubles to as much as 8 million rubles per person, according to the article.
Ekaterina Gurova, a former Nazareth Capital employee, described staying with the company despite not receiving pay because Nazareth Capital had crafted an appealing public image. She noted that the startup presented itself as a solid opportunity, featuring a single office in a premium business center, two additional offices, a redesigned interior, and a complete brand package that conveyed success.
Company materials, including the official website and internal documents, paint Nazareth Capital as developing a future digital ecosystem called Qwangy. The project was billed as a platform that would merge a social network, a marketplace, and a messenger into one integrated experience.
Developers interviewed by CHNews indicated that the app was only about 30 percent complete and had not reached the minimum viable product stage yet. This assessment points to a project in its very early stages with substantial work still to be done before any functional release.
According to employees, Vadim Nazaret is currently in the UAE and is actively seeking investors for the Qwangy venture. The company’s president did not provide responses to CHNews inquiries, leaving several questions about the project and its funding unresolved.
Earlier in April, Maksim Parshin, the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development, acknowledged that salaries for IT professionals in Russia rose by about 19 percent last year. He also urged local IT firms to be more transparent with their financial data to build trust and accountability. In May, Maksut Shadayev, head of the ministry, warned that the agency planned to remove about 2,000 entities from the registry of accredited IT companies if those firms refused to disclose information considered to be tax secrets. This backdrop highlights ongoing tensions around payment practices and regulatory expectations in the national tech sector, particularly for startups seeking rapid growth and external funding.