Everything you need to know about illegal actions with transfer documents and payment cards

Article 200 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hereinafter — the CC) is titled “Illegal actions with transfer documents, payment cards and other means of access to bank accounts, electronic money, equipment for their manufacture”. It punishes not every fraud involving cards, but specific acts: forgery, circulation and use of forged documents and cards, and the unlawful issuance or use of electronic money.

What a transfer document is

The definition is given by the note to Article 200: it is a document, on paper or in electronic form, by which banks or their customers pass an instruction or information for the transfer of funds between the parties to the transfer. The note lists:

• settlement documents;
• documents for the transfer of cash;
• documents used when carrying out an interbank transfer and a payment notification;
• other documents with the same function.

Besides documents, the article names payment cards, “other means of access to bank accounts” and electronic money. The Criminal Code does not define electronic money; under the Law of Ukraine “On Payment Services” it means units of value in electronic form, issued by an issuer for the execution of payment transactions, accepted as a means of payment by persons other than the issuer, and constituting the issuer’s monetary obligation.

Which actions are punishable

Article 200(1) covers four groups of actions:

1. Forgery of transfer documents, payment cards, other means of access to bank accounts or electronic money.
2. Acquisition, storage, transportation, forwarding of forged transfer documents or payment cards — but only for the purpose of sale.
3. Use or sale of forged transfer documents or payment cards.
4. Unlawful issuance or use of electronic money.

The article requires neither the debiting of funds nor losses. A criminal offence is complete when the act contains all the elements of the offence (Article 13(1) of the CC) — that is, already from the moment of forging or of using a forged card. If it was not possible to carry out the intended act to the end, liability arises for an attempt — under Article 15 and Article 200 together (Article 16 of the CC).

Punishment

• Part 1 — a fine of 3,000 to 5,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (NTMI), that is, within the limits of the sanction from UAH 51,000 to UAH 85,000;
• Part 2 — the same acts committed repeatedly or by a group of persons by prior conspiracy: a fine of 5,000 to 10,000 NTMI, that is, within the limits of the sanction from UAH 85,000 to UAH 170,000.

If the principal punishment is a fine of more than 3,000 NTMI, as in both parts of Article 200, the court may not impose a fine smaller than the property damage caused or the income obtained, even if this exceeds the limit of the sanction (Article 53(2) of the CC). The exception is an accomplice with a minor role: the court may impose on them a fine within the limits of the sanction.

The hryvnia amounts are calculated at UAH 17 per minimum — the Tax Code applies this amount to references in other laws to the non-taxable minimum, except for the classification of offences (paragraph 5 of Subsection 1 of Section XX of the Tax Code of Ukraine).

Repeated commission means two or more criminal offences provided for by the same article or part of an article (Article 32(1) of the CC). Prior conspiracy by a group of persons means that two or more people agreed in advance, before the start of the commission, on committing it jointly (Article 28(2) of the CC).

Article 200 does not provide for imprisonment. The upper limit of the sanction is 10,000 NTMI, so both parts are minor crimes (Article 12(4) of the CC; what follows from this — in the article on the classification of crimes by severity). An unpaid fine of more than 3,000 NTMI, if there are no grounds for payment by instalments, is replaced by the court with imprisonment — one day for eight NTMI, for a minor crime from one to five years (Article 53(5) of the CC).

When other articles are added

Taking possession of money is not an element of the offence under Article 200. Taking possession of another’s property by deception or abuse of trust is fraud (Article 190(1) of the CC), while fraud by means of illegal operations with the use of electronic computing equipment is a separate, much stricter Article 190(4). If a person committed several offences under different articles, each is classified under its own article (Article 33(2) of the CC). Unauthorised interference in the operation of information systems is yet another separate criminal offence (Article 361 of the CC).

Article 255-4 of the CC also mentions payment data — it concerns the creation of an electronic communications fraud organised group, leading it or taking part in it. Under the note to it, the activity of such a group may include, in particular, the use of details of payment instruments, individual account information and authentication codes. For more, see the article on liability for cybercrime.

It happens that a buyer sends a seller a fake “receipt” or a screenshot of a transfer. Whether such a file is a forged transfer document within the meaning of the note to Article 200 depends on the circumstances — this is assessed by the investigation and the court. Obtaining goods by deception falls within the definition of fraud, but the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences (CoAO) classes petty theft by fraud — up to two NTMI — as an administrative offence (Article 51 of the CoAO; the limit in hryvnias is in the article on petty theft).

If your card was used without you

• Notify the bank immediately. Under the Law “On Payment Services” the payer is obliged to notify the bank of an unauthorised or improper transaction as soon as they learn of it, in the manner determined by the agreement. An improper transaction is one where, through the fault of a person who is neither the initiator nor the payment service provider, funds were debited from the wrong account or credited to the wrong recipient. You can claim compensation for an improper transaction if you notify within 90 calendar days from the date of debiting; this time limit does not apply if the bank did not comply with its obligation to inform the payer of the transactions performed.
• Block the card. The issuer must make it possible to report the loss of a payment instrument or account credentials free of charge and at any time, and after that to prevent its use. The law ties the distribution of risk precisely to the notification of loss: before it, the risk of losses from improper transactions is borne by the payer, from the moment of notification the risk for unauthorised and improper transactions is borne by the issuer.
• Demand a refund. A transaction made without your consent is considered unauthorised, and the bank is obliged to return immediately its amount at its own expense and pay a penalty. But if the user did not comply with the information protection requirements, the bank is released from liability — this is assessed in each case separately.
• Keep the evidence: the statement, SMS messages, correspondence, phone numbers, screenshots.

A report of a criminal offence must be accepted and registered by an investigator, prosecutor or other authorised official; refusal is not allowed (Article 214(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, hereinafter — the CPC). You do not have to choose the article yourself: it is enough to describe what happened, and the preliminary legal classification is entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations by the investigator, inquirer or prosecutor (Part 1 and Part 5 of the same Article). For more on the report, the victim’s rights and the civil claim, see the article what to do if you have become a victim of fraud.

If you are the one suspected

The pre-trial investigation under Article 200 of the CC is carried out by detectives of the Economic Security Bureau (Article 216(3)(1) of the CPC). If, along with Article 200, the matter concerns fraud with the use of electronic computing equipment or interference with systems, the rights of a suspect at each stage are described in the article on cyber cases. An attorney in a criminal case can assess the classification and the evidence; to get in touch, go to the “Contacts” page.

The provisions are cited as currently in force as of 13 October 2026.