The National Bank proposes to the Ministry of Digital Affairs to make it more difficult to close individual entrepreneurs to combat drops
The National Bank of Ukraine has appealed to the Ministry of Digital Transformation with an initiative to change the procedure for closing individual entrepreneurs in order to complicate the use of FOPs in drop schemes. This was stated by NBU Chairman Andriy Pyshny in an interview with Forbes.
Currently, FOPs can be closed automatically, but the NBU proposes to introduce a preliminary check of the entrepreneur’s activities.
“Before closing FOPs, it should be possible to analyze their activities – check the turnover of funds and the completeness of tax payments. Only after this should registration of termination of business activity be allowed, Pyshny explained.
He added that the problem of drops needs to be addressed comprehensively; in the coming weeks, a bill on the creation of a register of enhanced monitoring of drops may be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada.
According to him, drops are used not only for financial fraud, but also in arms trafficking, drug trafficking or terrorist activities, so it is important to conduct information work so that people are aware of the risks – in particular, that selling their own card or individual entrepreneur makes them possible accomplices in a crime. Despite the measures taken by regulators, the number of detected drop cards remains at a stable level.
“Current indicators do not exceed the average values of previous periods. There is no trend for growth or decrease, Pyshny added.
A “dropper” is a person who has sold access to his bank account to third parties for money transfers; large sums that are not subject to state control are passed through such accounts.
Criminals now not only sell access to other people’s cards, but also register fake individual entrepreneurs. Due to banking secrecy, the state does not see internal transfers between individuals, does not force them to pay taxes, and does not require reporting, which makes citizens’ accounts a convenient cover for large companies and criminal groups that try to hide large-scale transactions from tax authorities, financial monitoring, and law enforcement.
Usually, a dropper opens several accounts in different banks and sells packages of such accounts to clients. The account holder receives from 800 to 4,000 UAH per week for this – an amount that does not correspond to the level of risk.
Drops are involved in a wide range of operations: from servicing payments to illegal online casinos and paying out “gray” salaries to trading on crypto exchanges and even financing terrorist or sabotage activities against Ukraine.
