Handed over a card for fraud - you could go to jail: the Verkhovna Rada supported new penalties
From a fine to up to 8 years in prison: The Verkhovna Rada cracks down on "drops" and the transfer of bank cards
On September 15, 2026 the Verkhovna Rada supported in the first reading bill No.16013, which is intended to strengthen liability for illegal operations with bank cards, accounts and other payment instruments. 299 people’s deputies voted for the document. The bill was submitted by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and he designated it as urgent. The document is currently being prepared for the second reading, so the new provisions have not yet come into force.
On the eve of the vote, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement recommended supporting the presidential bill. The committee proposed to reject the alternative draft No.16013-1.
The bill provides for amendments to the Criminal Code and the introduction of liability for the transfer and circulation of so-called “drop-accounts”.
In particular, it proposes:
- for the transfer, receipt, acquisition or storage of a payment instrument, access data to a card, account or e-wallet with the purpose of use in a crime – a fine from 5,100 to 17,000 hryvnias;
- for the purchase, storage, sale or transfer of someone else’s payment instruments or access to them for the commission of a crime – a fine from 51 thousand to 170 thousand hryvnias, restriction of liberty for a term of 2 to 5 years or imprisonment for a term of 2 to 6 years;
- for the same actions committed repeatedly or by an organized group – from 5 to 8 years of imprisonment.
Separately, it is proposed to strengthen liability for forgery and illegal use of payment documents and means of access to bank accounts.
For the forgery or falsification of payment instructions, payment instruments, access data to accounts, e-wallets or other account information, the following are provided:
- a fine from 51 thousand to 85 thousand hryvnias;
- or restriction of liberty for a term of 2 to 4 years;
- or imprisonment for the same term.
For the illegal seizure of payment instruments or access to an account by deceit, theft or other criminally unlawful means, a fine from 85 thousand to 136 thousand hryvnias or up to 5 years of restriction of liberty or imprisonment is proposed.
“Drops” refers to people who, for a fee or other reasons, hand over their bank cards, accounts or access data to third parties. Such accounts can be used by fraudsters to receive and transfer stolen funds, to disguise the origin of the money, or for other criminal operations.
According to data voiced during the committee’s consideration of the initiative, in the first half of 2026 alone the State Financial Monitoring Service identified more than 12 thousand people associated with such schemes, and the volume of operations involving them exceeded 18.5 billion hryvnias. At the same time, merely handing a card to a relative will not automatically entail criminal liability. During the bill’s discussion it was emphasized that the focus is specifically on the transfer of payment instruments for the purpose of use in fraud or another criminal offense.
