Tatyana Zaretskaya is no longer an Estonian startup entrepreneur. Now she is trying to become an intermediary for investors in Saudi Arabia.

Tatsiana Zaretskaya, former «Minister of Finance» in the United Transitional Cabinet, after the end of the European Commission's grant tranches for LaavaTech — her husband's startup, where she was the brand face and co-founder — changed her field of activity and region.

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See also: Remember the «successful millionaire» Zaretskaya? It seems her company is done

Now Zaretskaya calls herself «interested in cleantech.» Cleantech refers to «clean technologies.» It's an abstract concept that can cover almost anything — from businesses producing electric vehicles to recycling plastic and developing wind farms.

However, what part of this Zaretskaya is involved in remains unclear. An entirely different way to earn money, which Tatsiana Zaretskaya is now publicly engaged in, can be described.

A few days ago, a LinkedIn poster for a webinar appeared, where two dyed blondes were inviting owners and managers of startups to «unlock three trillion dollars in opportunities.»

Performing in a duet with Zaretskaya was Genia Xasis. Don't worry about mispronouncing it — her real name is Yevgenia Konovalova, she's Russian. And also a person with a rich biography that's hard to verify. By her own words, she's a dollar millionaire — she accidentally earned her first million on the very first day after arriving in Dubai.

But the internet knows Konovalova also as a person who wrote several articles for the Russian «Forbes,» as well as an entrepreneur who tried to run an HR business (staff recruitment) in Russia but faced accusations from former employees of reluctance to pay.

At some point, the woman began performing under a pseudonym: she changed her Slavic surname to the memorable Xasis, and her first name to a modest Genia («genius» in English is «genius»).

Both women — Xasis and Zaretskaya — present themselves as representatives of supposedly their own venture capital funds but are primarily looking for those who would pay them.

«Nasha Niva» listened to their joint stream, whose target audience was indicated as owners and top managers of young technology companies needing funding.

The Zaretskaya of interest to us was introduced in the presentations section as a «person with great experience,» «who even has a Wikipedia page.»

The first third of the hour-long video was dedicated to a reference recounting information on the volumes of venture and government financing potentially available to technology company residents in Saudi Arabia.

If you believe the picture drawn by the speakers, Saudi investors strive to scatter trillions of dollars on ambitious IT companies. The prospect of accessing these funds is real for webinar attendees.

«But it's very important who opens the doors for you,» Zaretskaya specifies.

She explained that business culture in Saudi Arabia differs from what European companies are familiar with. Without having several meals together, without drinking liters of coffee together in advance, it's hard to count on serious conversation with the people who hold the money.

Xasis and Zaretskaya claim they have already spent the time to get accustomed to the region and assert that they possess an incredible network among Arab investors. They can «warmly present» your company to the right people. If needed, they can advise on other matters related to operations in Saudi Arabia.

In essence, this is the service they offer. In February 2025, a forum Leap for digital companies is to be held in Riyadh. And it's a good opportunity to connect those looking for money with those who have it.

For $45,000 paid to Zaretskaya and Konovalova, you will be transported from the airport to a hotel on the day of the conference and seated at a welcoming lunch with unnamed investors at the forum.

The gold package for $55,000 includes all of the above, plus «one hour of strategic communication about partnership or relocation» with the ladies themselves, as well as «at least one personal meeting with an investor very interested in what you're doing.» A driver will take you from the hotel to the meeting place and back.

For $110,000, with the VIP rate, you are guaranteed five meetings with unnamed investors who are «very interested in what you're doing.» The luckiest payers will be invited to a special side-event «with members of the royal family.»

Not everyone wishing to can take advantage of the women's offers: they are «happy to help» only a limited number of companies, namely a maximum of fifteen. The above prices are discounted and will be increased in a couple of days.

Three hundred people watched the stream. How many reacted is unknown.

Zaretskaya's new communication startup is developing amid a venture funding crisis in Europe.

And although Arab countries indeed invest heavily in new technologies, their managers do not do so unconsciously or at the behest of drinking buddies. Investment is accompanied by thoughtful work by financial and business analysts.

Amid startup owners' hopes for other markets not affected by war, a new genre of fraud has emerged in the Arab region — where intermediaries, for money, introduce naive startup founders to purported members of the royal family or representatives of large investment funds. Who are not actually such but play the corresponding role.

What clients will actually get from Zaretskaya remains to be seen.

See also:

Shakutin was caught for at least $40 million

How Til Schweiger and city centers were tormented to create a picture for the fraud-convicted protege of Dmitry Baskov

* * *

Tatsiana Zaretskaya presented herself as a dollar millionaire, which allowed her to gain the trust of responsible persons in the entourage of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and through them — a role in the United Transitional Cabinet.

Her career in the role of «Minister of Finance» lasted less than two months and ended on the day of the release of the «Nasha Niva» investigation into the real state of affairs of her business.

Zaretskaya then claimed alleged threats to herself and her allegedly existing employees and business partners and used this as a reason to resign.

In reality, her husband's company LaavaTech, which positioned itself as a producer of smart lights for plants, couldn't produce a commercial product and fell into decline simultaneously with the cessation of grant tranches from the European Commission.

Read: Successful startup founder or Baroness Munchausen? How Tatsiana Zaretskaya joined the United Cabinet and why she left

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