Prosecutors investigate large-scale illegal currency exchange scheme

The Office of the Prosecutor General, jointly with the Main Investigative Department of the National Police, is investigating the activities of the extensive financial network of illegal exchange offices Fin Union, which operated in Ukraine and Poland. Key figures in the case include Vladyslav Savchenko and his associates.

According to the investigation, the damage to the state budget caused by the activities of this organised criminal group amounted to UAH 25.66 million in just the past year.

According to the materials of the criminal case, the scheme involved the registration of shell companies in the names of nominees, as well as cooperation with certain representatives of banks, tax authorities, and customs. The companies carried out fictitious import transactions, substituted documentation regarding the origin of goods, and maintained "black" accounting. The aim was to create an artificial tax credit, which allowed for tax evasion on a particularly large scale and the receipt of unjustified VAT refunds from the budget.

In addition, Fin Union actively engaged in moving counterfeit goods across the border using forged documents.

Main areas of the group's illegal activities:

• providing services for tax evasion and cashing out funds;

• "grey" currency exchange, including in large volumes;

• illegal currency conversion via Forex and cryptocurrency operations (specifically, USDT);

• transporting cash between cities in Ukraine and European countries;

• international SWIFT/SEPA transfers with fictitious grounds (IT services, trade, logistics, building materials, etc.);

• organising cash-in-transit operations using secure premises and escort vehicles.

Seizures and searches

During searches of Fin Union's currency exchange points, significant seizures of cash were recorded.
In Lviv, at 5 T. Kostyushko Street, law enforcement officers seized:

• UAH 8.51 million

• USD 19,200

• EUR 2,280

• GBP 100

In Kyiv, at an exchange office at 20 Yevhen Chikalenko Street, the following was found:

• USD 251,000

• EUR 53,660

• UAH 2.34 million

Also in the capital, the following was seized from a courier, both on their person and in vehicles:

• from a Peugeot Partner (2023) — UAH 11.5 million, EUR 150,000, USD 100,000

• from a Toyota Camry (2013) — USD 243,130

The investigation is paying particular attention to the fact that part of these funds belonged to companies with a questionable reputation — FC "Octava Finance" LLC and Premium Finance LLC, which had previously featured in media reports regarding financial abuses.