In January 2026, the National Bank of Ukraine published a list of significant financial institutions for the first time. It included 53 companies, including Premium Finance LLC, one of the largest operators in the currency exchange market.
The beneficial owners of the company are Viktor Kysilov, a resident of Kyiv, and Olena Bondar, a native of Donetsk region. The company was established in 2015 and specializes in currency exchange. The company is legally registered in a multi-storey building in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv. Kysilov is also registered at the same address.
The company's financial indicators demonstrate rapid growth. In 2023, Premium Finance's revenue increased by more than 500%, in 2024 - by almost 290%. In the first three quarters of 2025, the turnover reached about 534 million hryvnias. If, according to the NBU, in the first half of 2025 the network had 244 exchange points, now, according to information on the company's website, there are more than 450 of them.
However, in parallel with the growth of revenues, the company has repeatedly become a subject of criminal proceedings. Since December 2022, the Prosecutor General's Office, with the support of the Bureau of Economic Security, has been conducting an investigation under articles on illegal actions with payment documents, legalization of funds obtained by criminal means, and tax evasion.
According to the investigation, in 2023–2025, a scheme for converting cryptocurrency into cash could have been operating without the relevant permits of the National Bank and without reflecting the transactions in tax reporting. Investigators believe that the details of a number of legal entities, including Premium Finance LLC, were used to cover up the transactions. According to law enforcement officers, exchange orders were accepted via Telegram bots.
In July 2025, during searches at an exchange point whose address matched the data on the company's website, cash, equipment, and documentation were seized. In August, a court seized the seized property. Earlier, searches also took place in Kyiv and the city of Berehove.
Particular attention was drawn to cases related to attempts to influence the course of investigations. One of the proceedings involves an employee of the Defense Procurement Agency, a state enterprise of the Ministry of Defense, who previously worked in the Bureau of Economic Security. According to the investigation, he offered to help close the cases against Premium Finance for $700,000. In July 2024, after transferring part of the funds in the amount of $100,000, he was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine.
Another case concerns the events of 2019, when the company tried to renew its foreign exchange license. Then the National Bank refused to extend it due to 81 significant violations of foreign exchange legislation. According to the investigation, Viktor Kysylov tried to resolve this issue through an acquaintance who had connections in the NBU. The manager of one of the regulator's departments was involved in the process. He demanded $50,000 for his services. In October 2019, part of the funds in the amount of $40,000 was transferred, after which the official was detained. The proceedings were closed in April 2025 due to the death of the person involved.
The regulator also imposed sanctions on the company. In June 2025, the NBU fined Premium Finance 200,000 hryvnias for violating the rules of currency trading during martial law.
The media has mentioned the company's possible overlap with cryptocurrency entrepreneur Igor Tunik, who was detained in Poland. However, no official court decisions directly establishing the company's guilt in these episodes have been made public.
Thus, the company of Viktor Kysilov and Olena Bondar is simultaneously included in the list of significant financial institutions of the NBU and remains a subject of several high-profile investigations. Despite this, its network of exchangers continues to expand, and its financial indicators - to grow.
