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Is SkyWay the promised tech Utopia it promises to be

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Is SkyWay the promised tech Utopia it promises to be

May 26
21:40 2021

London – SkyWay, a second-level transport technology company referred to String Transport consists of the movement of driverless vehicles on sleeperless tracks elevated above the ground on concrete supports.The Skyway technology was developed by Belarusian engineer Anatoly Eduardovich Unitsky in 1980. The company has been under development for the last 38 years but has not seen a single commercial project materialize. Although, the technology has been written and spoken about in many countries. 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. A prototype was assessed in Russia in 2008 by the Moscow State University of Railway Engineering concluding that it was “not viable and unsafe”.

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. In 2016, a Russian government panel that evaluated the technology called it innovative, but only in theory. A prototype of the technology reached speeds of 102 kilometres per hour in 2017 against the promised 500 kilometres per hour.

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. 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.

Established in Belarus, operated from an office complex in Minsk and registered under business names including “Euroasian Rail Skyway Systems Holding Ltd.”, “First SkyWay Invest Group Limited” and “Global Transport Investment Inc.” in places like the British Virgin Islands, London and Saint Lucia. 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.

The SkyWay Group consists of numerous subsidiaries to further the construction of the technology. SkyWay Capital was launched in 2014 along with a few other companies to collect funds for SkyWay projects. They seek potential investors from all over the world for the development of the rail transport technology referred to as SkyWay. To raise funds, the company started MLM affiliate programs.

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. The SkyWay Group have been seeking potential investors all over the world using various forms of marketing such as crowdfunding, telemarketing and multi-level marketing. The company “Sky Way Invest Group Limited” also launched financial training courses for a fee which it marketed as ‘Educational Investment Packages’ (EIPs). 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. However, financial regulators in Germany, Lithuania and 13 other countries have banned the sale of financial products from SkyWay or warned the public about a potential scam.

Furthermore, numerous other concerns like the value of its intellectual property, awards it has won, excessive pre-order contracts, and the number of people/organizations who have invested in the company seem to be questionable.

Australia, India, Indonesia, Italy, and Lithuania have cancelled projects citing concerns about safety and financial irregularity. The Skyway Technologies’ website mentions that they are negotiating with Australia, Turkey, and India but, there are no active plans to support this claim.

Regulators in Lithuania and Latvia have warned investors about SkyWay not being authorized to issue shares in the respective countries. In February 2018 the Italian regulatory agency CONSOB prohibited the advertisement and sale of certain SkyWay investment products to Italian citizens. In May 2019 the German regulatory agency BaFin prohibited the public offering of SkyWay investment products to the general public. In August 2019 the Financial markets Authority (FMA) of the New Zealand reiterated warning about potential Skyway Capital/SWIG scam.

Companies such as the Euroasian Rail Skyway System, American Rail Skyway System, African Rail Skyway System, Australia, and Oceanic Rail Skyway System have disappeared over the last few years. A review by Moscow State University in 2008 showed that the project was not feasible and unsafe. Subsequently, a prototype of the same technology was tested in Russia that was also rejected.

In India too there have been numerous litigation filed against the company with law agencies. There have been cases filed by investors in the United Arab Emirates as well. Complaints have been also filed against Swig registered in the UK and because of that the program was renamed to Neew.

An India based investor speaking on condition of anonymity said, “I have been an investor in Skyway since 2018. I had invested in the company because I was promised phenomenal returns, however I haven’t even got the principal invested back. Since the last 30 years no commercial projects have seen the light of the day. There are no global certifications in place, like TÜV SÜD which is considered to be the gold standard for safety, security and sustainability solutions. Since the last 7 years of skyway or 40 plus years of research of Mr Anatoly, the founder of skyway, not a single commercial project have seen the light of the day. I was promised that when I purchase their shares at a discount of up to 500 times their face value, I will receive a value increase of 1,000% or more when the company enters the global market. I have now come to realise that their Partner program in which they charge multi-level entry fee, like Consultant $ 100, Leader $ 200, Master $ 2,000, Expert $ 5,000, Top Expert $ 10,000, is nothing but a pyramid scheme. They use worthless stock in a Pre-IPO company to lure you into a scam that entices others.”

Lastly, the public needs to be cautious before investing in SkyWay and documents need to be verified well before investing.

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