SBU blocked a large-scale scheme of financing “LNR” terrorist organization via banking and non-banking e-payment systems.

Within the pre-trial investigation, law enforcement established that the scheme is established by a group of Ukrainians, who since 2014 continually live on temporarily occupied territories of Luhansk region. They set up a pseudo-financial organization “Pervyi Komerchyskyi Tsentr” aiming to finance illegally established authorities and armed forces of the so-called LNR. This organization secured the recharging and withdrawing transactions from Ukrainian and Russian bank cards, currency exchange operations. Via this organization the offenders transfered money using popular international payment systems and maintained turn over of e-money on prohibited in Ukraine websites.

SBU operatives established that a large-scale network of branches functions in Luhansk region under the name of “Pervyi Komerchyskyi Tsentr”, protected by the so-called MGB of LNR and FSB of Russia. In its activity are engaged 300 people, 100 e-wallets of Russian payment systems and over 1000 Ukrainian bank cards are used for non-stop financial activity. For some fee the offenders conducted money transactions (in particular, from controlled by Ukrainian authorities territories) for residents and companies from temporarily occupied territories of Luhansk region. The organizers paid profit taxes to fake authorities of pseudo-republic. This money was directed for financing of “MGB of DNR” and maintenance of terrorist armed forces.

SBU investigators documented that a manager of Kyiv office of one of the commercial banks facilitated the illegal activity. Starting from 2018 she carried out unlawful transactions for clients of “Pervyi Komerchyskyi Tsentr”, including members of illegal armed formations, via international payment systems. During the searches at residence places of the suspects and in the banks, law enforcement seized mobile phones, money, bank cards and other evidence of illicit activity, the SBU investigation helped to block card accounts with UAH 20,000,000 (USD 740,000), which were used for money laundering.

A manager of one of the offices of “Pervyi Komerchyskyi Tsentr”, who is on the controlled by Ukrainian authorities territoty, is served a notice of suspicion under the Part 1 Atricle 110-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

The operation was conducted by the SBU Department of Counter-Intelligence Protection of State Information Security with the SBU Office in Kharkiv region under the supervision of Prosecutor’s Office of Kharkiv region.