President Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed Law No. 16013, which introduced criminal liability in Ukraine for participation in so-called drop schemes - the use of other people's bank cards and accounts for conducting illegal financial transactions.
Who is liable
Until now, it has been possible to criminally prosecute mainly the organizers of fraudulent schemes, while people who, for a small reward, gave their payment cards or access to their accounts to outsiders, mostly remained outside the attention of law enforcement officers. The new law closes this gap: now the drops themselves are also responsible - card owners who knowingly provide them for other people's transactions.
Transferring a bank card for use in illegal financial schemes is punishable by up to six years in prison. This norm applies to people who consciously agree to the role of a drop for a promised reward. The law also provides for separate punishment for those who organize such schemes and engage executors.
For years, drop accounts have been one of the main tools for laundering money obtained through phone scams, phishing and online cryptocurrency scams: criminals transfer stolen money to the drop card, which in return withdraws cash or transfers the funds further, making it difficult for investigators to trace the money trail. Banks in Ukraine regularly warn customers not to hand over their cards, PIN codes or access to applications to third parties, even for an attractive fee - participation in such easy part-time work now directly falls under a criminal article.
For ordinary customers of banks, the adopted law is an additional signal to be careful: ads in the style of rent a card or earn money on transfers most often lead not to easy earnings, but to a criminal case. You can learn more about how to choose a reliable bank at section of Financier banks.
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