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SkyWay Group

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ЗАО «Струнные технологии», Skyway Capital Inc., SWIG International Ltd.
SkyWay, SkyWay Capital
Native name
[ЗАО «Струнные технологии»] Error: {{Lang}}: unrecognized language tag: "ru" (help)
ZAO "Strunnye tehnologii" [CJSC "String technology"]
Company typePrivate
IndustryTransport technology, Investment services
FounderAnatoly Eduardovich Yunitskiy
Headquartersпр. Дзержинского, 104к2. MINSK 220116,
Minsk
,
Belarus
Key people
Andrey Khovratov, Nadezda Kosareva, Evgeny Kudriashov
Productsmonorail vehicles and tracks
ServicesEIPs (Education Investment Packages), CRUs (CryptoUnits)
Divisions
  • Euroasian Rail SkyWay Systems Holding Limited (British Virgin Islands)
  • First SkyWay Invest Group Limited (London)
  • Global Transport Investments Inc. (British Virgin Islands)
  • SkyWay Capital Inc. (Saint Lucia)
  • SWIG International Ltd. (London)
Subsidiaries
  • Global Transnet UK Ltd.
  • PT SkyWay Technologies Indonesia
  • Rail Skyway Systems Ltd. (Lithuania)
  • Skyway Greentech Company (UAE)
  • Sky Way Transport Australia Pty Ltd
Websitehttp://rsw-systems.com/, http://sw-tech.by

SkyWay Group is a term used to refer to a group of companies that market, finance, and construct elevated rail transport systems commonly referred to as SkyWay.[1] The public has been warned by financial regulators about risky investments in SkyWay Group infrastructure projects.[2]

Overview

The SkyWay Group technology, referred to as 'String Transport',[3] involves the movement of driverless vehicles on sleeperless tracks elevated above the ground on concrete supports. The 'string' refers to the bundle of prestressed tensioned steel wires placed in a concrete-filled body.[4] The SkyWay technology has been marketed as a new type of elevated light rail transportation system.

SkyWay has been designed to transport passengers and cargo.[5] Yunitskiy claims his vehicles can reach speeds of up to 500 kilometers an hour and are reported to cost 20 percent less than normal subways.[6] It is also claimed that this technology involves minimal gas and particle emissions.[5]

History

SkyWay test track built in Ozyory, Russia in 2001 which was later deconstructed

Anatoly Yunitskiy is the inventor of SkyWay technology and is also the founder, the director[6] and the main shareholder of companies in the SkyWay Group.[7] He designed the technology in 1980 as a system of passenger and cargo capsules that travel by cable car.[5]

In 2001 a prototype of a SkyWay track was constructed in the Russian village Ozyory in Moscow Oblast. The allowable load on this track was tested there using a truck with iron wheels. This site was later deconstructed.[4] A prototype was assessed in Russia in 2008 by the Moscow State University of Railway Engineering concluding that it was "not viable and unsafe".[3]

In October 2015 the SkyWay Group started constructing a test site to demonstrate 'SkyWay' technology. It is situated in Marjina Horka (about 70 km from Minsk) and is called the EcoTechnoPark.[8] In 2016, a Russian government panel that evaluated the technology called it innovative, but only in theory.[3] A prototype of the technology reached speeds of 102 kilomters per hour in 2017.[5] In August 2018 at the EcoFest event, there were three tracks demonstrating prototypes at this site. One is for a vehicle with a maximum capacity of 48 people. The second track is for a 14-seater vehicle and the third is for a 6-seater vehicle.[9]

Operations

Company structure

SkyWay Group consists of numerous subsidiaries. The SkyWay Group deals with construction of the technology through numerous subsidiaries. SkyWay Group of Companies controls SkyWay Capital which was launched in 2014 to self-finance the projects.[6] They also own and control other companies like "SWIG International Ltd." registered in London and "SkyWay Capital Inc." which is registered in Saint Lucia. These companies function to collect funds for SkyWay projects.[5]

Established in Belarus,[10] operated from an office complex in Minsk[11] and registered under business names including "Euroasian Rail Skyway Systems Holding Ltd.",[12] "First SkyWay Invest Group Limited"[13][14] and "Global Transport Investment Inc."[15] in places like the British Virgin Islands, London and Saint Lucia.[6] It has been documented that companies in the SkyWay Group seek potential investors all over the world for the development of an elevated rail transport technology they refer to as SkyWay.[5]

Marketing

The SkyWay Group exhibited a monorail vehicle at the InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin in 2018.

In addition to demonstration models at the EcoTechnoPark in Belarus, the company has exhibited its technology at trade fairs like the 3rd Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition (SITCE).[16] The SkyWay Group markets itself primarily by promoting investment in its technology to small investors.

SkyWay Group seeks investors through its website and social media.[2] The SkyWay Group have been seeking potential investors all over the world using various forms of marketing such as crowdfunding,[1] telemarketing[17] and multi-level marketing where investors are promised remuneration for convincing other people to invest in SkyWay.[5][citation needed] It has also been documented that the SkyWay Group promote their technology with paid advertising on television and in newspapers,[18] and that financial services are being offered via social media.[2]

The company "Sky Way Invest Group Limited" also launched financial training courses for a fee[19] which it marketed as 'Educational Investment Packages' (EIPs).[20] CONSOB, the Italian financial regulatory agency, banned the sale and advertisement of these investment products in February 2018 because it turned out instead of receiving the "investment training courses" advertised, customers unwittingly ended up with "gift certificates" that could later be converted to company shares on the occasion of its IPO.[6]

No SkyWay company is currently registered to offer securities in any jurisdiction they operate in.[citation needed]

Negotiations

Although countries like Australia,[1] India,[3] Indonesia,[21] Italy[1] and Lithuania[22] started negotiating with the SkyWay Group, they were later cancelled or postponed due to concerns about safety and financial irregularity.[3][21] No projects have been realized outside Belarus.[5] The most recent negotiations have taken place in the United Arab Emirates.[23][24][25]

The SkyWay Group started negotiating with countries like Lithuania,[22] Australia,[26] Slovakia,[27] India,[3] Italy[1] and Indonesia.[21]

Lithuania

The municipality of Siauliai in Lithuania signed an investment agreement with SkyWay in 2014. The mayor of Siauliai was later criticized for negotiating with the SkyWay Group[28] and at the end of 2014 he was instructed to cancel the negotiations.[22][29][30] In 2014, the Bank of Lithuania released an official statement warning investors of SkyWay.[22] An investigation by the country's Prosecutor General's office found no evidence to prosecute the company. A subsequent lawsuit by SkyWay against the Lithuanian government was dismissed in 2018.[7][31]

Australia

In 2016 in South Australia, SkyWay negotiated with Flinders University to build a 500 meter long line for $13 million Australian dollars under the direction of ex-state transport minister Rod Hook who worked for SkyWay as an infrastructure consultant.[26][32] These negotiations were eventually postponed indefinitely in August 2018.[33]

Slovakia

In July 2016 SkyWay signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava to promote SkyWay technology in Slovakia.[27]

India

In May 2017 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the minister of Urban Development of the Northern Indian state Himachal Pradesh with SkyWay Group.[34] The minister who negotiated with SkyWay was criticised for doing so "without following proper procedures"[35] Critics also questioned why an agreement was signed with a company that had no operational projects,[3] and for the suitability of the technology to be used in the region.[3] As a result, negotiations in India have been postponed.[citation needed]

Indonesia

In September 2017 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the University of Indonesia in West Java to build on-campus 'sky trains'.[36]

In December 2017 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Jakarta for a proposed project in Kalimantan.[37]

In February 2018 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Gadjah Mada University in Central Java to promote research and innovation in the field of transportation.[38]

Members of the Indonesian public complained about the suspicious sale of investment products[21] and the OJK (the Indonesian financial regulatory agency) added SkyWay Capital to its list of prohibited companies.[39] As a result all negotiations in Indonesia were finally cancelled or postponed and the activities of the Indonesian subsidiary "PT SkyWay Technologies Indonesia" were frozen.[21]

Italy

In early 2018 negotiations took place in Italy. The Secretary of State for the Republic of San Marino signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the EcoTechnoPark in Belarus in March 2018 for the construction of the San Marino-Rimini line.[40] The mayor of the Sicilian city Messina also used SkyWay's "flying trams" to promote his electoral campaign.[41] Both negotiations were postponed or cancelled because of concerns brought up in local politics and by the Italian regulatory agency Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB).[6]

In March 2019, Brianza - a region in North-West Lombardy, Italy - invited SkyWay to present a feasibility project for a cable car between Cologno Monzese and Vimercate.[42] Due to controversy surrounding the company these negotiations have been postponed.[43]

United Arab Emirates

In October 2018 an investment agreement was signed between the SkyWay Group and Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park in the United Arab Emirates and 25 hectares was allocated to build a SkyWay test-site there.[44]

In February 2019 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai with the "Skyway Greentech Company" to develop 'sky pods' there.[24]

In April 2019 the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved a SkyWay suspended transit system that would have a length of 15 kilometres, consist of 21 stations and link vital spots in Dubai.[25]

Financial regulation

Regulators in Belgium, Lithuania, and Estonia have warned investors about SkyWay not being authorized to issues shares in the respective countries.[2]

In 2018 The International Organization of Securities Commissions (OICV-IOSCO) released a number of warnings related to the activities of SkyWay Group companies such as "SkyWay Capital" and "Sky Way Invest Group".[45][46]

In February 2018 the Italian regulatory agency CONSOB prohibited the advertisement and sale of certain SkyWay investment products to Italian citizens.[6][47]

In May 2019 the German regulatory agency BaFin prohibited the public offering of SkyWay investment products to the general public.[48][49]

Criticism

Concerns have been raised in published articles about information the company has posted about itself to promote investment. These concerns include the unrealistic returns promised to investors,[50] the value of its intellectual property,[51] the certification of its technology,[52] awards it has won,[53] excessive pre-order contracts,[33] the validity of its patents,[54] and people/organisations who have invested in the company.[55]

Particular criticism relates to misleading information about proposed SkyWay projects. Onliner.by (a popular Belarusian news portal), for example, document that the claims SkyWay made about a proposed project in Mogilev were actually untrue.[51] Similar misleading promotion has been documented relating to proposed projects in Russia,[17] the Crimea[56] and India.[51]

The first article by Onliner.by was published in September 2016 and it was commenting on the EcoTechnoPark testing facility being built at the time in Marjina Horka.[4] Anatoly Yunitskiy sued them for damage done to his company and his reputation. Yunitskiy lost the case in June 2017 and was required to pay costs incurred by the defendant.[57] He appealed unsuccessfully against this dismissal.[58]

In May 2017 the Volzhskaya Kommuna newspaper published a critical article on their 'Volga News' information portal about a telemarketing campaign used for funding in Samara.[17] The company's representative Andrei Khovratov filed a lawsuit against the editorial board but in March 2018 the court decided against the plaintiff.[58][59]

In July 2017 the popular Crimea news sender Primechaniya.ru published an article critical of a telemarketing campaign promoting investment in an unsupported SkyWay project in Sevastopol.[56] Later articles they published include information about legal threats issued by SkyWay employee Andrei Khovratov who represented SkyWay in the Crimea[60] and the unsuccessful litigation in Minsk and Samara.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SkyWay.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Sky Way, l'azienda del "tram volante" che non ha mai realizzato un progetto". letteraemme.it. 2018-07-20. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  2. ^ a b c d "New Zealand's FMA Adds Skyway Capital to Warning List - Finance Magnates". Finance Magnates - Financial and business news. 12 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Venugopal, Vasudha (13 July 2017). "Doubts raised over Belarus company credential for Rs 250-crore skyway transport project in Dharamshala". The Economic Times. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Сидорович, Константин (5 September 2016). "Илон Маск — чушь собачья, несите деньги мне. Белорус основал "компанию на $400 млрд" и строит под Минском "сверхскоростной" Sky Way" [Elon Musk - bullshit, bring me the money. Belarusian founded “a company for $ 400 billion” and builds a “superfast” Sky Way near Minsk]. Onliner. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Tomšič, Matic. "Kdo so Rusi, ki lovke stegujejo po slovenskem denarju" [Who are the Russians hunting Slovenian money]. siol.net.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Sparaciari, Andrea (1 May 2019). "Attaccàti al tram… Dal Pirellone a Messina, gli italiani che hanno abboccato alla fantomatica monorotaia da 500 kmh di SkyWay" [Attack on the tram… From the Pirellone to Messina, the Italians who took the SkyWay's elusive 500 kmh monorail]. Business Insider Italia.
  7. ^ a b "Court dismissed Rail Skyway Systems' EUR 10 mln claim against Lithuania". The Baltic Course. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Возле Марьиной Горки строят испытательный центр транспорта будущего — Пухавiцкiя навiны. Пуховичские новости. Марьина Горка. Новости Марьиной Горки".
  9. ^ "Струнный транспорт против журналистов и ученых. Как в Марьиной Горке прошел ЭкоФест-2018". 42.tut.by. 5 August 2018.
  10. ^ Сидорович, Константин (11 September 2017). ""Паразитирую на финансовых пирамидах", "перспективы развития — виртуальные". Что происходит со SkyWay Юницкого" [“I am leeching from financial pyramids”, “development prospects are virtual”. What is happening to Yunitskiy's SkyWay]. Onliner.by. There are a huge number of companies claiming to implement the SkyWay project. Here are just a few of them: ZAO "Strunnye Technologii", Global Transport Investment Inc., Euroasian Rail Skyway Systems Holding LTD... "Sky Way Capital" fund, "Sky Way Invest Group" fund.
  11. ^ Ермаченок, Анна (15 September 2015). "Со скоростью 500 км/ч. На "дорогу будущего" под Марьиной Горкой изобретатели ищут 300 млн долларов" [Inventors are looking for $ 300 million for the “road of the future” near Marina Gorka]. 42.tut.by. The office of 'Strunnye Technologii ZAO' occupies several floors in one of the Minsk business centers
  12. ^ Ермаченок, Анна (16 November 2018). "У бывшего сотрудника SkyWay со счета исчезли доли компании" [A former employee of SkyWay company’s shares disappeared from the account.]. 42.tut.by.
  13. ^ "Financiële waakhond waarschuwt voor piramidefraude van SkyWay Capital" [Financial guard dog warns about the pyramid scheme of SkyWay Capital]. Gazet van Antwerpen.
  14. ^ "First Skyway Invest Group Limited ("Skyway Capital")". Financial Services and Markets Authority. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2019. The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) warns the public against the activities of First SkyWay Invest Group Limited ("SkyWay Capital"), a company that offers investment instruments to the public in Belgium. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ "Lietuvos bankas perspėja dėl pasiūlymų investuoti į "Skyway" projektus" [The Bank of Lithuania warns of proposals to invest in Skyway projects]. www.lrytas.lt. At the moment, various people on SkyWay Capital's web site, social networking and investor events offer funding for SkyWay Group projects by acquiring shares issued by Global Transport Investments and Euroasian Rail Skyway Systems Holding.
  16. ^ "Gateless gantries, suspended trams among public transport innovations on show at World Cities Summit". Channel NewsAsia.
  17. ^ a b c Дмитренко, Алексей. "Самарцев затягивают в "высокотехнологичную" финансовую пирамиду" [Samarans are being dragged into a "high-tech" financial pyramid]. ПокупкиСамара. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  18. ^ Сидорович, Константин (18 September 2018). ""Это прикол на День дураков?" Что происходит со SkyWay Юницкого - Технологии Onliner". Onliner.
  19. ^ "Questa monorotaia non esiste" [This monorail doesn't exist]. Il Post. 12 June 2019.
  20. ^ "EIP - Education". Sky Way Invest Group. Retrieved 12 May 2019. Sky Way Invest Group is the official partner of Academy Private Investment (the educational training)... Therefore, when you pay for the packages, you not only buy the Certificates for the SKY WAY shares, but also save on your investment education.
  21. ^ a b c d e "Investasi Mandek, PT Skyway Teknologies Indonesia Umumkan Pembekuan". 30 September 2018.
  22. ^ a b c d Černiauskas, Šarūnas. "Lietuvos bankas: "oro traukinius" žadančio A. Junickio veikloje – sukčiavimo požymiai". DELFI. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  23. ^ "Sheikh Mohammed, Sheikh Hamdan try 150kmph Sky Pod in Dubai". Khaleej Times.
  24. ^ a b "Sky Pods could be here sooner than we think". DubaiWeek. 12 February 2019.
  25. ^ a b "Skyway to transport passengers along Dubai's skyscrapers". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  26. ^ a b "Unveiled - the plan to bring driverless sky trains to Adelaide". FIVEaa.
  27. ^ a b "STU a Sky Way podpísali memorandum o inovatívnom železničnom systéme [teraz.sk] - Slovenská technická univerzita v Bratislave (STU)". www.stuba.sk.
  28. ^ "Sutartis dėl Styginio transporto skandalo centre". www.snaujienos.lt. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  29. ^ "A genuine investment project? A boondoggle? A scheme? Lithuania: a national security threat first". Baltic News Network - News from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia. 2014-09-25. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  30. ^ "Šiauliai decides to cancel suspicious investment deal near military airport". DELFI.
  31. ^ "Основатель компании, строящей струнный транспорт, подал иск против Литвы на 10 миллионов евро". 42.tut.by. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  32. ^ "[PRO] Flinders Skyway - $13m - Sensational-Adelaide.com". www.sensational-adelaide.com.
  33. ^ a b "Warnings mount as it all looks like pie in the Sky-Way". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 23 February 2019.
  34. ^ "Dharamsala to boast of world's first 'skyway': Himachal Pradesh government". Financial Express. 10 May 2017.
  35. ^ "BJP leader attacks minister over skyway project". The Times of India.
  36. ^ Khumaini, Anwar. "Gandeng SkyWay Indonesia, UI akan bangun 'Kereta Langit'". merdeka.com.
  37. ^ "SkyWay Technologies MoU dengan MII, dan PT Jorong Port Development". Tribunnews.com.
  38. ^ "UGM Gandeng SkyWay Kembangkan Inovasi Transportasi". Republika Online. 20 February 2018.
  39. ^ Simorangkir, Eduardo. "Hati-hati! Ini 57 Investasi Bodong yang Dilarang OJK". detikfinance.
  40. ^ "PDCS: interpellanza monorotaia". SMTV San Marino. 20 March 2019.
  41. ^ "Elezioni Messina, Cateno De Luca fa sul serio: ecco il progetto dell'avveniristico tram sospeso in aria [VIDEO e DETTAGLI]". 7 June 2018.
  42. ^ "Col prolungamento la metropolitana volerà". La Martesana. 10 March 2019.
  43. ^ "Progetto con treni volanti per il Milanese, Bussolati: "Attenzione, è una farsa, società bloccata da Consob"". MilanoToday.
  44. ^ Constant, Olivier. "Système de transport innovant : SkyWay marque des points dans les Émirats arabes unis - Actu-Transport-Logistique.fr". www.actu-transport-logistique.fr.
  45. ^ "Investor Alerts Portal". www.iosco.org.
  46. ^ "SkyWay Capital Betrug - Finanzmarktaufsichten warnen". geldthemen.de. October 31, 2017.
  47. ^ "CONSOB Skyway Invest Group Warning - Resolution 20291". www.consob.it.
  48. ^ "Sky Way Capital Inc.: BaFin untersagt öffentliches Angebot von Investments". BaFin.
  49. ^ "BaFin News: Sky Way Capital Inc.: BaFin untersagt öffentliches Angebot von Investments". finanzen.net.
  50. ^ Černiauskas, Šarūnas. "Transporto revoliuciją žadantis rusas Šiauliams mauna kvailio kepurę". DELFI. Shares are likely to gain tremendous value and solid dividends as long as there is a functioning technology infrastructure. Each £100 you invest in today may turn into a £20,000 capital.
  51. ^ a b c Сидорович, Константин (11 September 2017). ""Паразитирую на финансовых пирамидах", "перспективы развития — виртуальные". Что происходит со SkyWay Юницкого" [“I am leeching from financial pyramids”, “development prospects are virtual”. What is happening to Yunitskiy's SkyWay]. Onliner.by.
  52. ^ Van Burren, Arthur (13 February 2018). "Skyway – tote Investoren, tote Lizenzen und tote Zertifikate?".
  53. ^ "SkyWay Capital und der Golden Chariot Award - Ein Fake? geldthemen.de". geldthemen.de. 24 November 2017.
  54. ^ Van Burren, Arthur (25 May 2018). "Skyway – Patente obsolet – Patentgebühren oder Verlängerungsgebühren nicht bezahlt – Patente nicht gültig".
  55. ^ "SkyWay Capital Lügen - Angebliche Investoren erfunden". geldthemen.de. 23 January 2018.
  56. ^ a b Лучников, Андрей (4 July 2017). "Под пение струн: в Севастополь зашла новая пирамида?" [Singing the strings: has a new pyramid entered Sevastopol?]. Примечания.ру.
  57. ^ Сидорович, Константин (8 June 2017). "Суд отказал академику РАЕН Юницкому в исковых претензиях к Onliner.by - Технологии Onliner". Onliner. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  58. ^ a b Дмитренко, Алексей. "Sky Way Invest Group "приструнили" на 120 миллионов". ПокупкиСамара. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  59. ^ Лучников, Андрей (3 March 2018). "SkyWay "приструнили" на 120 млн рублей". Примечания.ру. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  60. ^ Лучников, Андрей (6 July 2017). "Продавцы воздуха грозят "Примечаниям" Роскомнадзором". Примечания.ру.
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