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Стас ЮрасовThat's Life
15 January 2026, 13:55
2026-01-15
The State Bureau of Investigation and the Security Service of Ukraine are investigating a scheme to illegally obtain pensions for residents of temporarily occupied territories through forged e-signatures
Investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation have uncovered a large-scale scheme for illegally obtaining pensions from the Ukrainian budget for persons living in temporarily occupied territories.
Investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation have uncovered a large-scale scheme for illegally obtaining pensions from the Ukrainian budget for persons living in temporarily occupied territories.
According to the investigation, an organized group created a mechanism for illegally issuing qualified electronic signatures for pensioners who remained in the occupied territories, without their personal presence. Through these QEPs, the defendants renewed social payments and withdrew funds via crypto wallets to the occupied territories.
The key element of the scheme was a Russian intermediary firm, which, according to the witness, had connections with Ukrainian providers of electronic trust services. The cost of the service was about 20 thousand rubles with a completion time of 3-5 working days. For comparison: legal registration of a CEP in Ukraine costs 240-500 hryvnias.
What the investigation found
According to the case materials, part of the funds received from the Ukrainian budget were transferred to the needs of the armed forces of the aggressor country. Investigators suspect a specific person in the crime — the head of a separate registration point of the official partner of one of the Ukrainian providers of electronic trust services.
The investigation began on November 10, 2025 under Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine).
Scale of the operation
The court granted access to documents regarding 66 individuals for whom electronic signatures were allegedly illegally issued. Investigators were granted permission to examine the register of qualified electronic signature certificates, which are formed by the central certification authority of the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
Legal aspects
Under Ukrainian law, individuals in the occupied territories may receive pensions subject to annual physical identification by December 31 of each year. This can be carried out:
through authorization in the PFU account using Action.Signature;
via video conferencing with the PFU bodies;
through a certificate at a diplomatic mission of Ukraine abroad.
However, the scheme allowed circumventing these requirements by illegally issuing CEPs in Ukrainian-controlled territory without the presence of pensioners.
Next steps
Prosecutors, as well as SBU investigators, have received temporary access to the electronic documents of the Ministry of Digital Transformation to clarify all the circumstances of the case. In particular, they are interested in information about which electronic trust service providers issued the suspicious certificates and under what circumstances. The case is at the stage of pre-trial investigation.
