Ukraine Toughens Laws Against Scam Call Centres Amid Corruption Scandal

Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada has approved tougher criminal penalties for running or working in fraudulent call centres, as well as for using electronic communications to steal or misuse personal and banking information to defraud victims. The legislation, now awaiting presidential signature, would make organising, operating, recruiting for, or working in a scam call centre a distinct crime, with penalties of seven to twelve years in prison for those convicted.

The bill was first proposed in 2023 but gained new urgency after an anti-corruption investigation revealed an alleged network of officials in Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office accepting bribes to shield fraudulent call centres from law enforcement since mid-2025. Five suspects have been named, including a close associate of former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who has since resigned and been formally removed from office. Kravchenko denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged.

Scam call centres operating from Ukraine have targeted victims both domestically and internationally. In July, Ukrainian cyber police dismantled one such operation in Kyiv that allegedly stole more than $500,000 from American victims by posing as financial advisers offering fake investment opportunities.