The State Financial Monitoring Service records cryptocurrency transactions for financing terrorism, but the lack of relevant legislation hinders its efforts
Kyiv • UNN
The head of the State Financial Monitoring Service stated that the role of crypto assets in crimes has increased during the war. The FSB of the Russian Federation uses USDT to prepare terrorist attacks in Ukraine.
During the war, the role of crypto assets in financial crimes has increased. The State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine records the use of digital assets, in particular, for financing terrorism or collaborationism. But as the head of the State Financial Monitoring Service, Philip Pronin, noted in an interview with the Judicial and Legal Newspaper, the absence of special legislation creates vulnerabilities, UNN reports.
During the war, the role of cryptocurrencies and virtual assets in financial crimes has significantly increased. Today, it is already a full-fledged element of the global financial system, which can be used not only as an innovative tool but also for abuse.
The speed of transactions, decentralization, and the possibility of a certain anonymity make them attractive for illegal activities.
We are already recording cases of cryptocurrency use for money laundering, financing terrorism and collaborationist activities, fraudulent schemes, and circumventing international sanctions. In particular, in 2022–2025, cryptocurrencies became one of the tools for circumventing sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation by the EU, USA, Canada, Great Britain, and Japan. At the same time, it is important to understand that the absence of special legislation, a full-fledged licensing and supervision system, and limited opportunities for applying a risk-oriented approach create vulnerabilities that can be actively used by criminal groups.
He emphasized that for financial intelligence, the key task today is to identify schemes of abuse using virtual assets and, at the same time, to promote the formation of a transparent and secure digital asset market in Ukraine.
Pronin said that, together with law enforcement agencies, a scheme for using cryptocurrency to finance terrorist activities was uncovered.
The special services of the Russian Federation used a crypto wallet in USDT stablecoin to transfer funds intended for the preparation of terrorist acts and other crimes against the national security of Ukraine.
These funds then passed through a number of transit crypto wallets, some of which were identified as being connected to FSB officers of the Russian Federation. After that, the funds were transferred to crypto exchange accounts, converted into hryvnia, and transferred to the accounts of Ukrainian citizens. It was with these funds that the preparation of terrorist acts in Ukraine was financed.
According to him, international cooperation, which the State Financial Monitoring Service actively pursues, plays a key role in uncovering schemes involving crypto assets that are not limited to one jurisdiction. In addition, according to Pronin, over the past year, the agency has significantly strengthened its technical capabilities and expanded access to various databases.
Today, we have access to 44 registers of 16 state bodies, use both state and commercial information resources, and cooperate with crypto exchanges. Thanks to access to new databases, we have been able to implement algorithmic analysis of financial transactions, which significantly increases the effectiveness of detecting complex schemes. In addition, we are already working on models for applying artificial intelligence, which in the future will allow us to detect suspicious transactions and interconnections between participants in financial operations even faster.
Recall
In September 2025, the Verkhovna Rada supported bill No. 10225-d on virtual assets in the first reading. The document provides for a special tax regime for operations with virtual assets. In the first year after the adoption of the document, a preferential personal income tax rate of 5% will apply. The tax will be levied only on profits for the year, i.e., on the difference between the costs of purchase and the income from the sale of crypto assets. After the special regime ends, cryptocurrency owners will pay tax on investment income – 18% personal income tax and 5% military levy.
The final adoption of the bill is expected in the spring of 2026. At the same time, there is currently no final decision on which body will be the market regulator.