If you are searching for a fintech consultant, a holding company registration specialist, or an advisor who can handle financial licensing across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously โ the most important question to ask is not which firm has the most polished website, but which firm has the actual regulatory experience to get your structure right the first time. At Zitadelle AG, we answer that question with credentials, track record, and a team that has operated inside the institutions it now advises on.
This article explains who we are, what our team has done before joining Zitadelle AG, and why that background makes a material difference when you are navigating holding company registration, financial services licensing, or cross-border compliance in 2026.
What Is Zitadelle AG and What Do We Actually Do
Zitadelle Advisory Group โ operating as Zitadelle AG or ZAG โ is an independent financial regulatory advisory and fintech consulting firm incorporated in Cyprus, with administration offices in F.T. Labuan, Malaysia, and a representative office in Port Louis, Mauritius. We work with fintech companies, brokers, investment managers, crypto operators, family offices, and multinational groups that need to structure, license, and operate regulated financial services businesses across international jurisdictions.
Our services span the full lifecycle of a regulated financial services business: holding company formation and operational entity structuring across Labuan, Mauritius, Cyprus, Seychelles, BVI, Cayman, and 25+ other jurisdictions; investment and securities licensing; VASP and MiCA authorization; payment and EMI licensing; banking and investment banking authorization; AML/CFT compliance programme design; accounting and audit coordination; and legal opinions. We also operate Financial License Market โ a platform for buying and selling licensed financial companies โ and HRFinEase, our fintech recruitment platform for sourcing qualified compliance officers, directors, and AML professionals across regulated jurisdictions.
The Team Behind the Advice โ Why Background Matters in Regulatory Work
Regulatory advisory is a field where the quality of the advice is inseparable from the experience of the person giving it. A consultant who has never worked inside a bank, a regulated broker, or a financial supervisory authority cannot tell you with authority what a regulator is actually looking for when they review an application โ they can only tell you what the guidelines say. The difference between those two things is the difference between a successful first application and an 18-month delay.
This is why the background of our team is central to what Zitadelle AG offers. Here is who is behind the work we do.
Aleksandr Kazak โ 10+ Years Running Zitadelle AG, Former Swiss Bank and MiFID II Professional
Zitadelle AG was built by Aleksandr Kazak, who brings a background that is uncommon in the independent advisory market: direct professional experience inside a Swiss bank and within MiFID II regulated financial institutions before founding and running Zitadelle AG for over a decade. That institutional foundation matters because it means Aleksandr understands regulatory frameworks from the inside โ how compliance departments think, what supervisory authorities look for in applications, and where the practical gaps between regulatory theory and operational reality actually sit.
Ten years of running an independent advisory firm across Cyprus, Malaysia, and Mauritius compounds that institutional knowledge with direct experience of what works across dozens of different regulatory environments. When Aleksandr advises a client on whether to pursue a Labuan Investment Banking License or a Mauritius Investment Dealer license, that recommendation is grounded in having successfully navigated both with actual clients โ not in reading the regulatory guidelines for the first time and presenting them as advice.
Aleksandr is based in Cyprus and leads the firm's European and international business development across all service lines. His LinkedIn profile is available here.
Valeria Teterina โ ACCA-Accredited Accountant, IFRS Specialist
For any client whose engagement involves holding company registration, financial structuring, or cross-border tax planning, Valeria Teterina is the professional handling the accounting and finance dimensions. Valeria holds ACCA accreditation โ the globally recognised professional accounting qualification โ alongside IFRS specialisation, making her qualified to handle financial reporting, audit preparation, and accounting compliance for international holding structures, trading entities, and licensed financial companies.
ACCA accreditation is not a minor credential. It requires passing 13 rigorous professional examinations and demonstrating years of practical accounting experience under supervision. It is the qualification that banks, auditors, and regulatory authorities recognise as evidence of genuine accounting competence. Having an ACCA-qualified accountant in-house โ rather than outsourcing this function to a third party โ means clients working with Zitadelle AG receive accounting and financial structuring advice that is integrated with their regulatory strategy from the outset.
Valeria is based in Cyprus. Her LinkedIn profile is available here.
Elena โ EU-Qualified Attorney at Law
Legal opinions, regulatory assessments, corporate documentation, and jurisdictional analysis at Zitadelle AG are supported by Elena, an attorney qualified under EU law. For clients operating in or targeting European markets โ including those seeking MiCA CASP authorization in Cyprus, MiFID II licensing, or EU EMI/payment institution authorization โ having a qualified EU attorney as part of the core team rather than as an external referral provides materially faster turnaround and better integration between legal and regulatory work.
EU legal qualification means direct familiarity with the legislative framework that governs regulated financial services across all 27 EU member states โ not a surface-level summary, but working knowledge of the directives, regulations, and supervisory guidance that determine what is and is not permissible for licensed entities operating under EU law. This is the foundation for the legal opinion work, regulatory scoping, and documentation preparation that underpins many of our European licensing engagements.
Chrise Samuil โ Senior Corporate and Finance Officer, Malaysia
For all Labuan IBFC engagements โ company formations, LFSA license applications, banking introductions, ongoing compliance management โ Chrise Samuilleads the on-the-ground work from our F.T. Labuan administration office. Chrise brings a corporate and finance background specifically grounded in the Malaysian and Labuan regulatory environment, which translates directly into faster and more accurate application preparation, better LFSA liaison, and practical knowledge of the banking relationships in Labuan that make or break a client's ability to operate effectively once licensed.
Having a specialist physically present in Labuan โ rather than managing Labuan applications remotely from Cyprus or Singapore โ is one of the structural advantages Zitadelle AG offers for ASEAN-focused clients. Chrise handles everything from company name reservations through the COR@L system to director appointment approvals and post-licensing annual compliance. His LinkedIn profile is available here.
Norshiela Binti Ahmad โ Experienced Fintech Accountant, Malaysia
Accounting, financial reporting, and tax compliance for Labuan-incorporated entities is handled by Norshiela Binti Ahmad, an experienced fintech accountant based in our Labuan office. For clients holding Labuan companies โ whether trading entities paying 3% LBATA or holding structures at 0% โ the accuracy and timeliness of annual audited accounts and LBATA tax elections is not a back-office formality. Getting the substance documentation wrong, or missing the expenditure thresholds that qualify the company for preferential LBATA rates, triggers Malaysia's standard 24% corporate tax rate on the entity's income. Norshiela's role is to ensure that does not happen โ through accurate financial record-keeping, proper classification of Labuan operating expenditure, and audit-ready accounts that satisfy LFSA requirements.
Her fintech-specific accounting experience means she is familiar with the particular financial statement requirements of licensed financial companies โ digital financial services operators, money brokers, and investment banking entities โ not just standard corporate accounting. Her LinkedIn profile is available here.
Why This Combination of Expertise Is Rare in the Market
Most fintech consultants and regulatory advisory firms fall into one of two categories. The first is the large generalist law firm or Big Four accounting practice โ technically credentialed, but expensive, slow, and structurally unsuited to the practical, execution-focused work that most fintech operators actually need. The second is the small offshore intermediary โ cheap, fast, but operating without genuine regulatory knowledge, often selling pre-packaged solutions that do not fit the client's actual business model and failing at the first serious regulator interaction.
Zitadelle AG occupies the space between those two categories deliberately. We are small enough to be responsive and commercially pragmatic โ our founder answers client messages directly, our team handles engagements personally rather than delegating to junior associates, and we are structured to give honest assessments including telling clients when a particular jurisdiction or license is not appropriate for their model. We are institutionally credentialed enough โ Swiss banking background, ACCA qualification, EU legal qualification, Malaysian regulatory experience โ to produce work that holds up to serious regulator scrutiny.
That combination is genuinely uncommon. Most boutique advisory firms in this space are founder-only operations with no supporting team of licensed professionals. Most multi-person advisory teams at this price point do not have the institutional background that comes from having worked inside regulated financial institutions before advising on them.
Holding Company Registration โ What We Handle and Where
Holding company registration is one of the most common entry points for new clients. The typical profile is a business owner or group managing multiple operating companies across different countries who needs a tax-efficient, credible holding structure to consolidate ownership, manage IP, hold investments, or channel cross-border distributions.
The jurisdictions we most commonly work with for holding structures โ and the reasons each is selected:
- Labuan, Malaysiaโ 0% tax on passive holding income, no withholding tax on dividends to non-residents, access to Malaysia's 70+ DTA network, 50+ international banks, Islamic finance available. USD 800 annual government fee. Best for ASEAN-focused holding structures and groups with Middle Eastern or Islamic finance requirements.
- Mauritius GBC โ ~3% effective tax, 46+ DTAAs including India, South Africa, and France, strong banking infrastructure, credible FSC regulator. Best for Africa-facing and India-facing investment holding structures.
- Cyprus โ 15% corporate tax, EU member state, full MiFID II and MiCA passporting, extensive DTA network. Best for European holding structures and groups requiring EU regulatory passporting.
- BVI โ zero tax, no substance requirements for holding entities, minimal ongoing compliance. Best for pure holding structures where institutional banking is not required.
- Cayman Islands โ zero statutory tax guaranteed by legislation, highest institutional recognition of any offshore jurisdiction, strong fund and investment holding infrastructure.
Each jurisdiction suits different ownership structures, client profiles, and business purposes. Selecting the wrong one โ particularly on tax structuring or substance grounds โ creates problems that are expensive to unwind. Our pre-incorporation assessment covers tax analysis, substance requirements, banking access, DTA availability, and regulatory implications before any incorporation proceeds.
How to Work With Zitadelle AG
Our engagements typically begin with an initial consultation โ a direct conversation with our team about the business structure, the jurisdictions under consideration, and the specific regulatory or corporate objective. From that conversation, we produce a structured assessment covering the recommended jurisdiction and structure, the timeline and cost, the substance requirements, and the practical steps from incorporation through to operational launch.
We do not operate on a volume model. We take on engagements where we can genuinely deliver the right outcome for the client, and we are direct about situations where a different solution โ or a different advisor โ would serve the client better. That approach is reflected in our client retention and referral rate, which is the primary source of new business for Zitadelle AG after a decade of operation.
To begin a conversation, visit our contact page or reach our team directly via the contact details on the team page. Our Labuan office (+60 11-2759 6723) and Cyprus headquarters (+357 96 649654) are both staffed and responsive to new enquiries.
Zitadelle Advisory Group (Zitadelle AG / ZAG) is incorporated in Cyprus with administration offices in F.T. Labuan, Malaysia, and a representative office in Port Louis, Mauritius. This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Last updated: April 2026.