Ukraine busts conversion center with 23.5 billion hryvnias in turnover since 2023
Ukraine's Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) exposed a large-scale money-laundering and tax-evasion network with a monthly turnover of about 500 million hryvnias. Fifty searches were carried out across Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa, and six participants were notified of suspicion. The scheme is estimated to have moved roughly 23.5 billion hryvnias since 2023, with tax evasion estimated at around 3 billion hryvnias.
Key points
- Monthly turnover of the scheme: approximately 500 million hryvnias
- Total volume since 2023: about 23.5 billion hryvnias
- Estimated tax evasion: around 3 billion hryvnias
- 50 searches conducted on 18 September in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa
- Six participants notified of suspicion under multiple Criminal Code articles
- Operation led by BEB under procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General
- Unregistered cash worth millions of hryvnias seized during the searches
Why it matters
The case highlights the scale of wartime financial crime in Ukraine: a single network is alleged to have channelled about 23.5 billion hryvnias through illicit conversion since 2023, with potential budget losses near 3 billion hryvnias. The use of Tether (USDT) crypto wallets, online and offline exchangers, VPN services, foreign SIM cards and more than 30 closed Telegram groups points to sophisticated methods for moving funds off the formal banking system. The operation also shows how criminal groups recruit financially vulnerable people to act as nominal owners of shell companies, a pattern that undermines Ukraine's business registry and tax base.
What happened
On 18 September 2026, detectives from the Bureau of Economic Security carried out 50 searches at homes and offices in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as part of an operation targeting a large conversion center. BEB acted under procedural guidance from the Office of the Prosecutor General, with the State Customs Service and the Cyber Police cited as partners. Six members of the criminal organisation were notified of suspicion under several articles of Ukraine's Criminal Code, covering participation in a criminal organisation, illegal handling of payment documents, forgery of documents for registering legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, and laundering of criminally obtained property.
According to investigators, the network operated from August 2023 to September 2026 and involved more than 30 people with divided roles — from recruiting straw directors and keeping accounts to managing crypto wallets and delivering cash to clients. Participants recruited individuals in difficult financial circumstances and registered companies and sole proprietorships in their names, entities that carried out no real business activity. Non-cash funds were converted into Tether (USDT), moved to dedicated crypto wallets, exchanged for cash through a network of online and offline exchangers, and then delivered by couriers. The network charged commissions of 1.5% to 3.5% per conversion and used VPN services, foreign SIM cards and more than 30 closed Telegram groups for coordination. Millions of hryvnias in unregistered cash were seized during the searches. BEB director Oleksandr Tsyvinskyi announced the operation via his official Telegram channel and said further details would be released on 21 September.
Where reporting differs
Ukrainian outlets disagree on which agency partnered BEB in the operation: some name the State Customs Service, while others name the State Border Service. Both versions appear in the available reporting.
Background
In Ukrainian law-enforcement usage, a "conversion center" is a network that converts non-cash funds into untraceable cash, typically to facilitate tax evasion and money laundering. BEB had previously exposed a separate conversion center with turnover of up to 18 billion hryvnias that serviced hundreds of enterprises across Ukraine and was linked to international financial channels.