Revolut’s CFO leaves the digital bank just 2 months after auditors found the fintech startup ‘misstated’ its revenues

Mikko Salovaara, the Chief Financial Officer of Revolut, has stepped down from his position at the digital bank after two years, citing personal reasons.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as Group CFO at Revolut and remain confident in the firm’s future success,” Salovaara said in a statement sent to CNBC via WhatsApp. “I thank Mikko for his contribution and wish him well on his next steps,” Revolut’s CEO Nik Storonsky said in a statement.

The news of his departure comes just two months after Revolut’s auditor BDO LLPsaid in March it was unable to “independently verify three-quarters of the 636 million pounds ($765 million) of revenue reported by the fintech firm in its long-delayed 2021 accounts.”

In a statement to CNBC, a spokesperson for Revolut confirmed that Mikko Salovaara had resigned from his position and was not fired. The spokesperson also mentioned that it would be inappropriate to disclose the personal reasons that led to Salovaara’s departure.

The London-based Revolut provides a digital banking alternative that includes a pre-paid debit card, currency exchange, and peer-to-peer payments. Revolut is an app-based banking alternative designed for a global lifestyle.

The UK-based startup was founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko. Revolut launched to the public in July 2015 with the aim of “building a fair and frictionless platform to use and manage money around the world”  by removing hidden fees and offering interbank currency rates. Nikolay Storonsky is a former trader at Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers. Vladyslav Yatsenko is a former Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank developer.

The Revolut mobile app supports spending and ATM withdrawals in 120 currencies and sending in 29 currencies directly from the app. It also provides customers access to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and XRP by exchanging to or from 25 fiat currencies.

In March 2019, an exposé of the company’s employment practices and culture was published by Wired. This found evidence of unpaid work, high staff turnover, and employees being ordered to work weekends to meet performance indicators. A more recent article suggests that the company has responded to the criticism.

Revolut became the UK’s most valuable financial technology startup in February 2020 after a funding round that more than tripled its value. This comes after the company announced it had raised $500 million from a group of investors led by the US fund Technology Crossover Ventures.