On October 28, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine Regarding the Protection of Citizens and Their Funds from Illegal Actions Involving Payment Instruments, Bank Accounts, and Electronic Money" (Reg. No. 16013), submitted by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and prepared by the Committee for the second reading.
The adopted Law enhances the criminal-law mechanism for combating financial fraud and implements the provisions of Directive (EU) 2019/713 into national legislation.
Key Provisions of the Law:
1. Amendments to Article 200 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine introduce criminal liability for illegal actions involving payment instructions, payment notifications, payment orders, payment instruments, and other means of access to bank accounts and e-wallets, including their misappropriation, theft, acquisition through fraud or breach of trust, or acquisition by other criminally unlawful means.
2. The Criminal Code of Ukraine is supplemented with a new Article 201¹, establishing criminal liability for the transfer, receipt, purchase, storage, or other acquisition of payment instruments or personalized security credentials, or providing access to them or to a bank and/or payment account or e-wallet, for the purpose of committing fraud or another criminal offense, specifically:
Transferring a payment instrument for the purpose of fraud committed by third parties shall be punishable by a fine of 300 to 1,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (NMDP);
Receiving, purchasing, storing, selling, or transferring third-party payment instruments for the purpose of fraud committed by third parties shall be punishable by a fine of 3,000 to 5,000 NMDH, restriction of liberty for up to 3 years, or imprisonment for a term of 2 to 4 years;
Repeat offenses or offenses committed by an organized group shall be punishable by a fine of 5,000 to 10,000 NMDH or imprisonment for a term of 4 to 6 years;
Exemption from criminal liability is also provided for a person who commits a criminal offense under Part 1 of Article 201¹ for the first time, voluntarily reports it, and actively assists in the disclosure and cessation of the crime.
3. Amendments to Articles 96³ and 96⁹ of the Criminal Code of Ukraine expand the grounds for applying measures of a criminal-law nature to legal entities in the event of acts covered by Article 200 and the new Article 201¹ of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
4. Investigative jurisdiction for the new Article 201¹ of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is specifically defined: the pre-trial investigation shall be conducted by the investigative body that initiated the pre-trial investigation or has jurisdiction over the criminal offense in which the transferred or received payment instrument, personalized security credentials, or provided access to a bank/payment account or e-wallet was utilized.
The Law clearly delineates liability between individuals who surrender their bank accounts or cards for fraudulent operations ("money mules") and the organizers of such schemes.