Fines of up to 170,000 hryvnias and imprisonment: how fraud involving bank cards will be punished in Ukraine

The Verkhovna Rada has adopted a law that strengthens criminal liability for illegal transactions involving bank cards, accounts, and electronic wallets. The document provides for fines of up to UAH 170,000 and imprisonment for up to six years for organizing and using so-called drop schemes. This was reported by UNN, citing the parliament's press service.

Details

On October 28, parliament adopted draft law No. 16013 in its entirety, aimed at strengthening the protection of citizens' funds from financial and cyber fraud. The relevant decision was supported by 270 members of parliament.

The draft law was initiated at one point by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It provides for amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. In particular, it establishes separate criminal liability for transferring, acquiring, storing, and using payment instruments and access to bank accounts for the purpose of committing fraud or other criminal offenses.

What changes the law provides for

One of its key tasks is to counter the activities of so-called drops (individuals through whose bank accounts criminals conduct illegal financial transactions — ed.). The adopted document updates Article 200 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which regulates liability for illegal actions involving payment instruments, documents for the transfer of funds, and means of access to bank accounts.

In particular, criminal liability is established for misappropriating or stealing payment instruments, obtaining them through deception or abuse of trust, as well as for other methods of illegally obtaining them.

In addition, the Criminal Code has been supplemented with a new Article 200-1, which establishes liability for transferring, receiving, acquiring, storing, or selling payment instruments, personal data used to access accounts, and electronic wallets for the purpose of conducting criminal transactions.

At the same time, the law distinguishes between the liability of persons who knowingly transfer their own payment instruments for illegal transactions and that of participants in schemes involving the acquisition and distribution of other people's bank cards.

Fines and imprisonment: what punishment violators will face

The transfer of one's own bank card or other payment instrument for the purpose of enabling fraud by other persons is punishable by a fine of 300 to 1,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens. In monetary terms, this amounts to UAH 5,100 to 17,000.

A more severe punishment is established for receiving, acquiring, storing, selling, or transferring other people's payment instruments for carrying out fraudulent transactions.

The following penalties are provided for such actions:

• a fine of UAH 51,000 to 85,000;
• restriction of liberty for a term of up to three years;
• imprisonment for a term of two to four years.

For repeated commission of the relevant offenses or their commission by an organized group, a fine of UAH 85,000 to 170,000 or imprisonment for a term of four to six years is established.

However, the law provides for the possibility of exempting from criminal liability a person who committed an offense related to transferring their own payment instrument for the first time, voluntarily reported it to law enforcement authorities, and actively assisted in uncovering and stopping the crime.

Separate amendments concern the application of criminal-law measures to legal entities if their activities are connected with the relevant offenses.

What are drop accounts and how do fraudsters use them?

Drops are people whose bank cards or accounts are used to receive, transfer, or withdraw funds, including funds obtained through criminal means. Usually, the organizers of fraudulent schemes offer citizens a monetary reward for handing over a bank card, account details, or access to mobile banking. After that, financial transactions are conducted through such accounts, making it possible to conceal the movement of funds and complicate the identification of their ultimate recipients.

In some cases, people are recruited into such schemes under the guise of legal employment, being offered jobs involving the transfer of money between accounts.

As noted during the preparation of the draft law, networks of nominee payment accounts have become systemic in nature and have become part of the infrastructure of economic, drug-related and cybercrime. Therefore, the new provisions are intended to create legal mechanisms for holding participants in such schemes accountable as early as the stage of transferring or acquiring means of access to funds.

Does the punishment threaten ordinary bank card holders

An important aspect of the new legislation is the issue of liability for citizens who transfer their payment instruments to other people. The mere fact that a bank card is used by a relative or acquaintance does not automatically entail criminal liability.

Under the provisions of the adopted law, this concerns the transfer of a payment instrument or access to an account specifically for the purpose of committing fraud or another criminal offense.

At the same time, experts from the Centre for Political and Legal Reform warned that the new law could result in criminal liability even for people who became involved in fraudulent schemes without knowing it because they had been deceived. In particular, human rights advocates noted that citizens might agree to transfer funds or provide access to accounts without understanding their true purpose. In addition, experts expressed reservations about the broad wording concerning the use of payment instruments to commit other criminal offenses, which, in their view, could create risks of ambiguous interpretation of the provisions.

How much Ukrainians lose to bank fraudsters

The need to strengthen the fight against financial fraud is confirmed by statistics from the National Bank of Ukraine. According to the regulator, in 2025, the number of illegal actions and fraudulent payment card transactions that resulted in losses fell by 5% compared with the previous year, to 256,000 cases. However, the total amount lost by citizens and other payment card users increased by 24%, reaching UAH 1.4 billion. The average amount of a single fraudulent transaction was UAH 5,536.

One of the most common tools used by criminals remains social engineering, in which fraudsters, under various pretexts, persuade citizens to disclose their card details, passwords and verification codes themselves or to provide access to banking applications. However, it is drop accounts that allow criminals to move the funds obtained through third-party accounts, making them more difficult to trace.

European standards for combating financial fraud

The adoption of Law No. 16013 is also related to the fulfillment of Ukraine's European integration obligations. The document is aimed at implementing the provisions of European Union Directive 2019/713 on combating fraud and counterfeiting involving non-cash means of payment.

European legislation provides for the criminalization of a number of illegal actions involving payment instruments, including their theft, counterfeiting, illegal acquisition and use. The relevant changes are also envisaged by the Roadmap on the Rule of Law, which covers measures to combat organized crime and cybercrime.

The new criminal law mechanisms are expected to enable law enforcement agencies to investigate financial crimes more effectively and hold accountable participants in schemes involving the use of other people's bank accounts.

Reminder

Earlier, we reported that lawmakers proposed creating a "drop registry".