Officials increasingly declaring cryptocurrency – NACP

Officials are increasingly declaring cryptocurrency every year. This is indicated in the statement of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), the Ukrainian News agency reports.

Thus, in 2,200 declarations submitted for 2024, crypto assets worth UAH 786 million were indicated, as evidenced by the data of the Unified State Register of Declarations of Persons Authorized to Perform State or Local Self-Government Functions (Register of Declarations).

The NACP notes that the number of declarants indicating funds in cryptocurrency is growing every year:

in 2022, in 1,320 declarations – for UAH 371 million;

in 2023, in 1,710 declarations – for UAH 526 million;

in 2024, in 2,200 declarations – for UAH 786 million.

The agency notes that cryptocurrency is one of the modern ways to store and invest funds, while some declarants try to use it to "hide" illegally acquired wealth.

"The NACP, within the framework of full checks of declarations, verifies the declared crypto assets in the blockchain network and establishes their real ownership by the declarant or his family members. For this purpose, the agency has the necessary technical and analytical tools and closely cooperates with the Cyber ​​Police Department of the National Police of Ukraine," the report says.

The NACP notes that the most common violation when declaring cryptocurrency is the inability to confirm its presence. Often, officials declare significant crypto assets without providing confirmation of their reality: there are no verified crypto wallet addresses, stock exchange statements, or even screenshots. Usually these are assets that, according to the declarants, were purchased many years ago for symbolic amounts.

"Declaring non-existent assets is a deliberate violation that cannot be explained by carelessness or ignorance of the rules," the agency emphasizes.

Among the most common explanations given by declarants who reported unconfirmed cryptocurrency are loss of access to the wallet due to a forgotten password, theft of the hardware medium, or loss of the physical key, but they do not provide any documentary evidence, although modern crypto wallets usually provide recovery mechanisms.

Another common explanation is the purchase of assets for cash through unidentified persons or illegal services without any supporting documents.

In addition to declaring unconfirmed assets, a common type of violation is the submission of unreliable data regarding real cryptocurrency assets: their value, quantity, and date of acquisition.

Often, declarants are guided by the market rate as of December 31 (the end of the reporting period), which is incorrect; according to the law, the value of the asset must be indicated in the declaration based on the actual costs of its acquisition. There are also cases of intentional underestimation of the value at the time of acquisition in order to avoid additional questions about the origin of the funds.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the Rada wants to allow cryptocurrency to be included in gold and foreign exchange reserves.

The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy recommends that the Rada adopt a bill on cryptocurrency taxation.

Committee Chairman Danylo Hetmantsev (Servant of the People faction) expects the Verkhovna Rada to consider the bill on the legalization of crypto-assets in the first reading in early September.

To request a correction, please send an email.