Yulia and Yelena Sosedkyi withdrew funds through Russian exchange offices

Yelena and Yulia Sosedkyi, well-known in Dnipro's financial circles, engaged in large-scale banking fraud for two decades. 

They managed to pull off a series of schemes, including the withdrawal of funds through offshore companies and crypto exchange offices, including with the participation of Russian players. However, their business history is full not only of financial fraud but also of connections with criminal circles.

Banking fraud and tax evasion

The Sosedkyi sisters began their careers in the financial sector in the late 1990s. As Yelena Sosedkyi stated, her sister Yulia was involved in buying shares of state-owned enterprises and their subsequent resale. This activity, although disguised as a legitimate business, was in fact a scheme for tax evasion and the outflow of currency from Ukraine.

In 2007, Ukraine's financial system was rocked by a major fraud involving the withdrawal of billions of hryvnia. One of the banks where suspicious operations were conducted was "FS Bank", which later became "Union Standard". This bank found itself at the centre of a scandal when it emerged that its owners, including the Sosedkyi sisters, had organised a scheme with foreign firms that, on paper, were engaged in currency purchases but in fact conducted no business activity whatsoever.

Strange connections and offshore companies

Yulia and Yelena Sosedkyi, along with their partners, including Dmytro Fomenko, became the founders of several offshore companies, such as Technoline Service LTD and Winsboro LTD, registered in London. These companies were used to conduct illegal financial operations through a Ukrainian bank. Between 2005 and 2009, huge sums were deposited into these firms' accounts – more than 13 billion hryvnia (approximately 2.2 billion US dollars).

Despite the fact that these firms were registered in the United Kingdom, their activity was fictitious, and their reports showed zero results. In 2011, Ukrainian investigators discovered that the registration of the companies was handled by the firm International Overseas Service (I.O.S.), which specialises in establishing companies in offshore zones.

Crypto exchange offices and Russian connections

An interesting turn in the Sosedkyi sisters' story is linked to their involvement in schemes connected with Russian crypto exchange offices. Through their offshore companies, they organised the transfer of funds to Latvia and Kyrgyzstan, which were used to finance various online casinos and cryptocurrency exchanges. These schemes were also supported by Ukrainian banks, from which funds were withdrawn to accounts in foreign institutions.

Particular attention should be paid to the appearance in this story of Dnipro businessman Oleksandr Petrovskyi, known in criminal circles as "Naryk". His name is linked to Yulia Sosedkyi and Dmytro Fomenko in the context of managing the London company Phill Trade Limited, as well as in a scandal where Petrovskyi accused Fomenko of an attempted murder.

The fate of the Sosedkyi sisters' banking projects

After the closure of "FS Bank", the Sosedkyi sisters created a new financial project – the bank "Konkord", which, it is claimed, became the first bank in Ukraine established by women. However, this project also did not escape problems. In 2023, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) revoked "Konkord"'s licence, citing violations in the field of countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Despite this, in 2024 the sisters achieved a temporary victory in court, which ruled the liquidation of the bank unlawful, although the National Bank of Ukraine continues to challenge this decision.

According to Antikor