Another Belarusian with a fabricated biography came under the scrutiny of Polish investigators
He positioned himself as a repressed leader of the Belarusian opposition, though he wasn't one, then as a successful economist, a Pole from the Borderlands, and became an advisor to top Polish politicians. An investigation by Rzeczpospolita revealed: a significant part of the biography of Ivan, or Jan Churylovich, raises serious doubts.
Ivan Churylovich. 2010. Photo: tvn24.pl
Press attention to Ivan Churylovich was drawn by his appearance in the entourage of Polish scientist Olga Malinkiewicz — founder of Saule Technologies. The company emerged in 2014 based on her discovery of a method for printing ultrathin solar cells using perovskites — materials that allow the creation of light, flexible, and significantly cheaper solar panels.
Unlike traditional silicon batteries, such elements can operate even in low light — for example, indoors. This opened up prospects for use in buildings, household appliances, and electronics.
The technology raised great hopes: it was called a potential revolution in photovoltaics. Malinkiewicz herself is called "the second Marie Skłodowska-Curie" in Poland.
In 2021, Saule announced the start of production and its first licensing agreements, which gave hope that perovskite technology would enter real commercial production. However, full-scale industrial production and market entry never materialized. By 2024–2025, relations between Saule's management and investors sharply deteriorated. Mutual accusations began: one side blaming the other for not fulfilling financial promises, the other for inefficient use of funds.
Olga Malinkiewicz. Photo: sauletech.com
The situation escalated to such an extent that on May 7, 2025, Malinkiewicz filed a complaint with the National Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw, accusing investors of acting to the detriment of the companies. On the same day, changes occurred in Saule's management: supervisory boards decided to recall Olga Malinkiewicz from the boards of Saule Technologies and Saule. A few days later, on live television on a Polish channel, David Zieliński, CEO of one of Saule's key investor companies, accused Malinkiewicz of connections with "eastern intelligence services."
It was at this moment that Ivan Churylovich undertook to "save" the situation, whom investors considered a manipulator and an agent of influence.
According to Malinkiewicz herself, she met Ivan Churylovich back in 2016 — at a TVP Polonia ceremony where both received awards "For Services to Poland and Poles Abroad." Since then, he periodically appeared in her professional circle, but showed particular activity now, in the midst of the conflict surrounding Saule.
The 52-year-old Churylovich himself, to calm public opinion, published his biography through Malinkiewicz's social media, where he told the following about himself:
«I graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Warsaw (where I later received a doctorate in the same field), studied political science at the State University of New York in the USA, law at King's College London, and international relations/diplomacy at Oxford University in the UK. I was a scholarship holder of the Polish government, the Open Society Institute, and Oxford University.
As a citizen of the Republic of Poland, I worked in Brussels for Minister Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Minister Bronisław Geremek, and Minister Jan Kułakowski. On behalf of the World Bank, I served as chief advisor to the US citizen Minister of Finance of Ukraine. Among other things, I participated in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and, together with the Polish Ministry of Interior, oversaw the Polish government's aid to Ukraine.»
However, journalists from the Polish publication Rzeczpospolita, who had been verifying this information for several months, concluded that a significant part of this narrative is not confirmed.
Fake education and a Russian passport
First of all, journalists contacted the University of Warsaw (UW). The university officially replied: a person with such data did not receive a doctorate there.
At the same time, Ivan Churylovich was found in another institution — the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS). But even there, it was only a brief episode: he was a doctoral student in the 2003/2004 academic year and requested a deferral just a year later, effectively stopping his studies.
The situation with his entry in the University of Warsaw database appears particularly strange. Unofficially, journalists found that he indeed appears in the electronic registry, but this entry is almost empty. It contains no information about years of study, educational stages, passed exams, or diploma conferral. Even the field of study is not clearly indicated — only a code corresponding to the Faculty of Economics.
As one former university employee noted, in a normal situation, such a database should contain a complete student "dossier." Here, everything looks as if "the person was simply entered into the system without a confirmed history of studies."
Even more questions arose after checking personal data. In university records, Ivan Churylovich is listed as a citizen of Russia — this information is repeated in several fields: country of passport issuance, origin, and citizenship. At the same time, he persistently presents himself as a Belarusian opposition figure. The place of birth is indicated as Stolin.
BNF Leader?
Ivan Churylovich's opposition activity also turned out to be much less clear than his own statements. In the late 1990s, he was indeed connected with the "Malady Front" (Young Front), but remotely.
«I haven't heard anything about Ivan Churylovich for a long time,» the publication quotes Pavel Sevyarynets. «I remember that for some time he held a position in the international department of the "Malady Front", working in Warsaw. Is he Belarusian? I think so. Maybe he was born in Poland, maybe not. It's hard to say where he came from. At a certain stage (early 2000s), Ivan Churylovich was noticeable, organizing press conferences abroad, appearing in the media. Perhaps later he was an assistant to Janusz Onyszkiewicz.»
Journalists found a mention of him in a 1997 publication by Kurier Wileński. A short note about a picket states: «Jan Churylovich, leader of the BNF, worked for one of the Belarusian opposition newspapers a year ago. He wrote an article about the falsification of referendum results, after which he fled to Poland due to repression. He is now applying for refugee status.»
«It cannot be said that Ivan Churylovich was a leader,» Sevyarynets notes, however. When asked about the absence of repression, Sevyarynets added: «It seems to me that he lived in Poland, and therefore did not end up in prison or a camp.»
Consultant to Polish Politicians
As Rzeczpospolita writes, his activity in the Belarusian opposition opened the first doors to the big world for Ivan Churylovich. In the mid-2000s, he became an assistant to MEP (2004–2007) and former Polish Minister of Defense Janusz Onyszkiewicz. According to the politician himself, Ivan Churylovich mainly dealt with topics concerning Belarus and Ukraine.
However, other assistants from that period note: «He was not liked, he had such a rude approach to people, he acted only in his own interests.»
According to interlocutors, Ivan Churylovich often disappeared to London on his own business. Later, he began cooperating with various groups in the European Parliament, which raised questions about loyalty. They say he simultaneously worked for the Lithuanian Vytautas Landsbergis from a competing party, which was perceived negatively.
No one remembers who exactly recommended Ivan Churylovich to Onyszkiewicz. A person from Onyszkiewicz's circle, speaking anonymously, noted:
«He was one of those few Belarusians who spoke English well. 20 years ago, everything looked exactly like that: someone knew the language, someone recommended someone — that's how people became assistants.»
Path to the world and awards
Work in the European Parliament became a springboard for Ivan Churylovich into business, primarily in the energy and raw materials sector. His name appears in companies associated with the Polish and Ukrainian markets (for example, Sadovaya Group).
Journalists found his name in the 2016 diplomatic corps list in the USA — at the Ukrainian embassy in Washington. He was listed next to political advisor Oksana Shulyar (as of 2024, she is responsible for Ukraine's accession to NATO). Notably, he was listed in the way a diplomat's spouse is usually listed.
Separately, journalists drew attention to the 2016 TVP Polonia award. At the gala concert, he was introduced as a "Polish economist" who played an "exceptional role during the Maidan events" and was the closest associate of Ukraine's Finance Minister Natalia Jaresko. At the same time — not a word about Ivan Churylovich being a Belarusian opposition figure.
TVP found no documents regarding who nominated him for the award. The Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs (MSWiA) also stated that it has no information about Ivan Churylovich's participation in negotiations concerning aid to Ukraine.
When journalists tried to get explanations from him directly, he refused to answer questions about his education and citizenship, stating that journalists should first obtain permission from the institutions they are asking about.
Intervention of special services
Ivan Churylovich appeared next to Malinkiewicz a year ago, when Saule Technologies began to sink. Investors are convinced that his influence led to the collapse of plans to save the company.
David Zieliński, president of Columbus Energy — one of Saule's main investors — stated:
«We only learned about Churylovich in 2025. Yet, back in 2017, Olga had a detective's report that cast a shadow on Ivan, and she then broke contact with him. She hid this report from us. In December in Katowice, two men who introduced themselves as special services officers delivered threats to my employee, targeting me and my family. That's when I understood what kind of dangerous person we were dealing with behind Olga's back.»
As Rzeczpospolita found out, the Polish special service, the Internal Security Agency (ABW), also became interested in Ivan Churylovich.
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