Rafail Liiv
Managing Partner
Leads the firm, partner relationships and complex regulated-industry files across licensing, banking and corporate structuring.
Consulting partner · est. 2015
Licensing, immigration and accounting for regulated and international companies.
We help companies and founders obtain licenses (iGaming, crypto, fintech, and more) and run accounting, including payment solutions and banking support. We provide end-to-end support for business relocation and the immigration of employees with their families to Cyprus.
Three workstreams · One team
01 / Licensing
iGaming, crypto & fintech.
We select jurisdictions, file applications, build substance, AML and corporate governance.
02 / Immigration
Cyprus & EU.
We help obtain visas, residence permits and citizenship, and register EU citizens — for founders, employees and their families.
03 / Accounting
Finance & payments.
Bookkeeping, VAT, payroll, audit, plus payment solutions, banking and crypto processing.
One account lead. One invoice. One Slack channel — for founders, companies and families building across iGaming, crypto, fintech and the international structures around them.
Why it matters
For businesses where other providers stop.
In regulated and high-risk markets, the weak point is rarely a single document. The real risk is a broken chain: a licence without banking, a company without substance, a PSP without reconciliation, an accounting file that does not match the operating model. Yourshield's value is the ability to control that chain — from strategy to execution.
Three departments
Pick your department, or book a call and we'll place you.
Most engagements touch more than one department. Each card below links to the full department page with sub-services, FAQ and CTAs.
Department · 01
Licensing
iGaming, crypto (VASP/CASP), fintech (EMI/PSP) licensing — plus regulatory structuring, corporate governance, nominee directors, corporate secretary and AML/compliance framework.
→ Department · 02Immigration
Cyprus immigration. Ten routes: visitor visa, temporary and permanent residence, digital nomad, work permits, employment via FIC, business immigration, family reunification, student visa, EU citizen registration.
→ Department · 03Accounting
Bookkeeping, VAT, payroll, audit coordination, financial and management reporting — plus payment solutions (PSP/EMI/merchant), fiat banking support, crypto processing and treasury.
→High-risk & regulated
The industries and audiences we focus on.
We work where the regulator, the bank and the structure questions are all connected. Not every industry, not every jurisdiction.
iGaming & gambling
Operators, B2B platforms, casino startups. Licence + banking + PSP stack.
Crypto & Web3 (VASP/CASP)
EU CASP authorisation, MiCA transition, custody and processing.
Fintech, EMI, PSP
Full and small EMI, payment institution, agency programmes.
Startups
Operational foundations from day one — accounting, AML, banking.
International entrepreneurs
Cross-border structuring, tax-residency planning, group accounting.
Families relocating to Cyprus
Visas, schools, healthcare, banking, life setup.
How we work
Five steps. Predictable scope. No "let's try".
The shape of an engagement is the same whether we're filing a licence, relocating a family or running a Cyprus company's monthly close.
01
Diagnostic call
30 minutes with a partner. Realistic options, constraints, what success looks like.
Week 0
02
Structure memo
Written recommendation: entities, jurisdictions, banking, indicative timeline and cost. Yours to keep.
Week 1–2
03
Build
Entities, substance, filings, AML, banking and PSP — in parallel where the regulator allows it.
Week 2+
04
Operations handover
Accounts, compliance calendar, audit-ready documentation, live banking and processing.
After go-live
05
Ongoing partnership
Accounting, audit, renewals, banking reviews and immigration renewals.
Year 1+
Why Yourshield
What's different about working with us.
Six habits we apply consistently — even when it would be easier not to.
Structured approach
Stage 1 diagnostic is always fixed. Stage 2+ scope is fixed once we've completed the diagnostic. No hourly billing on closed-loop engagements.
Senior people on every file
The partner you meet on the diagnostic call stays on the engagement. No handoff to a junior after sign-off.
Confidentiality & professional discretion
Client names are not shared in marketing. NDAs are mutual. Sensitive data is handled with the care of a regulated practice.
Experience with regulated industries
Licensing, banking and AML files for iGaming, crypto and fintech businesses — and the corporate, immigration and accounting work that comes with them.
Bilingual EN/RU support
Engagement documentation and reporting are delivered in English or Russian, depending on the client and the operating jurisdiction.
Cross-border, practical execution
One team coordinating licensing, immigration and accounting — instead of four firms that don't talk to each other.
The team
Operators who've been on the other side of the deal.
Our partners have launched regulated products, worked with bank compliance teams and structured cross-border operations. We understand how banks and regulators think because we've been in the room.
Ludmila Cotrut
Chief of Quality Control
Leads banking and EMI relationships, payment-account strategy and onboarding files for clients in regulated industries.
George Adamides
Head of Tax & Structuring
Owns cross-border tax, holding architecture, substance planning and founder-side structuring decisions.
Dariya Skurdina
Head of Immigration
Leads the Cyprus immigration department: residence permits, visas, family reunification and life-on-the-ground setup for founders and families.
Alexandr Myagkov
Head of Compliance & AML
Responsible for AML / KYC frameworks, compliance manuals and regulator-ready documentation across licensing engagements.
Natalie Aivazidou
Head of Licensing
Leads licence applications, regulator communication and filing calendars across iGaming, fintech and crypto mandates.
FAQ
Common questions about Yourshield.
What does Yourshield Consultants do?
Yourshield is an international business consultancy supporting regulated and international businesses across three departments: Licensing (iGaming, crypto, fintech), Cyprus Immigration, and Accounting with payment-solutions and banking support. We work primarily with founders, companies and families dealing with cross-border, regulated or higher-risk activities.
Which industries does Yourshield work with?
iGaming and gambling, crypto and Web3 (VASP/CASP), fintech (EMI/PSP), payment businesses, Cyprus companies, international entrepreneurs, founders, startups, and families relocating to Cyprus. See the Who We Help page for the full audience map.
Do you help with iGaming, fintech and crypto licensing?
Yes. iGaming licensing in jurisdictions including Curaçao, Kahnawake, Anjouan, the Isle of Man and Malta; CASP/VASP authorisations across Lithuania, Czech Republic, Switzerland, UAE and Liechtenstein; and EMI, small EMI and payment-institution authorisations in the EU and UK. Jurisdictional fit is assessed on the first call.
Can you help launch an online casino?
Yes. We coordinate the full launch path: licence application, corporate structuring, AML and compliance framework, platform and PSP selection, banking and crypto rails, and ongoing operations. We do not develop game software; we coordinate sourcing and integration with specialised providers.
Do you provide Cyprus immigration support?
Yes. Our Immigration department focuses exclusively on Cyprus. Visitor visas, temporary and permanent residence permits (including the fast-track Regulation 6(2)), digital nomad visa, work permits, FIC employment, business immigration, family reunification, student visa and EU citizen registration.
What Cyprus visas and permits can you assist with?
Ten routes in total — see the Immigration department page for each route's eligibility profile, indicative requirements and realistic timelines. Thresholds and processing times are indicative, subject to current Cyprus law and individual circumstances.
Do you provide accounting services for Cyprus companies?
Yes. Bookkeeping, VAT, payroll, audit coordination, statutory tax filings and IFRS-aligned financial and management reporting — for Cyprus-registered companies and Cyprus branches of international groups.
Are payment solutions part of your accounting department?
Yes. Payment solutions (PSP, EMI and merchant-account coordination), fiat banking support and crypto-processing onboarding are inside the Accounting department because they are a financial-operations workstream — not a stand-alone product.
Can you help with fiat banking and crypto payment processing?
Yes. We assist with onboarding to fiat banking partners that are willing to work with regulated higher-risk businesses, and with selecting and onboarding crypto-processing providers for fiat on/off-ramps, stablecoin settlement and crypto card acquiring. Each file is pre-qualified before submission. Bank approval is at each bank's discretion.
Do you guarantee bank account opening or licensing approval?
No. Bank-account opening and licence approval are decisions made by banks and regulators, not by consultants. We commit to a quality of preparation, an honest pre-assessment of likelihood and clear communication — not to guaranteed outcomes.
How does the first consultation work?
A 30-minute diagnostic call with a partner. We map your situation, the realistic options, the constraints and what success looks like. No NDA required up front, no obligation to proceed. The call is complimentary.
Can you work with both English-speaking and Russian-speaking clients?
Yes. Our partner team works in both English and Russian, the site is fully bilingual, and documentation and reporting are delivered in whichever language suits the client and the operating jurisdiction.
Book a 30-minute call. No pitch deck, no NDA up front.
Tell us what you're working on and what's in the way. You'll leave with a view on the right next step — whether or not we work together.