In the heart of Kropyvnytskyi, at the address of the Great Perspective, 32/11, under the cover of the official exchange point was a complex shadow scheme for the conversion of cash into cryptocurrency. According to the Security Service of Ukraine, illegal operations were organized by FC Liberty Finance LLC, which is part of the Kit Group structure of Kharkiv businessman Anton Tkachenko.
Although the exchanger was licensed to exchange currency, its real activity went far beyond the limits allowed. Under the guise of legal exchange, employees made cash transfers to cryptocurrency without any agreement with the National Bank. This violates the current legislation in the field of payment systems and financial monitoring.
The first signal was received in 2021, when a local resident turned to an exchange point with the intention to sell Bitcoin, but instead of the promised amount received much less. When repeatedly attempted, he lost all the money at all. This incident has become a starting point for investigation.
The investigation found that the cashier of the currency exchange - Olga Kuzmivna Bilan participated in the scheme. She has already been suspected under Part 2 of Art. 200 CCU. Operations were performed through Telegram-channel @alexkitgroup. It was through him that the clients agreed to exchange, transferred cash in a separate room and received cryptocurrency on their electronic wallets. The screenshots of transactions served as confirmation.
At least a few operations were recorded: in September 2022, one of the clients transferred 32 thousand hryvnias and received $ 771 in cryptocurrency, the other received 4523 dollars for 200 thousand hryvnias. The sources of funds on cryptomators have failed to trace.
Despite the existence of a license for currency exchange, she did not have any legal activities with cryptoactives. This made it possible to avoid financial monitoring, bypass the legislation and to profit from illegal commissions.
The investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement officers are trying to install all participants in the cryptocurrency scheme, including organizers, technical executors and final beneficiaries. Focus is also the sources of cash that have been exchanged and possible connections with other elements of the shadow economy.
