Financial Monitoring Service says scheme using Ukrainian SIM cards in enemy UAVs exposed
The State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine, has recently exposed a scheme involving the use of Ukrainian SIM cards in enemy strike UAVs, service head Filip Pronin has said.
"The scale of the scheme involved tens of thousands of numbers and transactions. In just one case, financial intelligence identified more than 24,000 mobile numbers and over 29,000 transactions in favor of mobile operators," he said on Telegram on Thursday evening.
According to Pronin, a group of individuals in Ukraine organized the purchase and activation of SIM cards, which were later transferred to the Russian side. Russia then used these cards in UAVs for communication, navigation and more accurate targeting of drones at Ukrainian cities.
In total, more than UAH 60 million passed through the accounts of participants in the scheme, including individual entrepreneurs and individuals showing signs of being so-called "drops." Some of these funds were used by the perpetrators to buy real estate and luxury cars, the head of the State Financial Monitoring Service said.
According to the service's analysis, one of the group's coordinators was located in the EU, while financial links between the participants were established thanks to cooperation with financial intelligence units of European countries.