Ukraine’s Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) has secured access to tax filings for dozens of sole proprietorships linked to Cryptology Key, a prominent cryptocurrency trading school. Solomianskyi District Court in Kyiv granted the motion on August 11, authorizing detectives to examine the records. Law enforcement has been investigating the entity for eighteen months over alleged tax evasion exceeding 70 million UAH, alongside suspected involvement in fraudulent investor fundraising schemes.
According to court filings, the project operated extensive online and offline crypto trading courses without forming a central legal entity or obtaining an educational license. The business—previously linked to the late Kostiantyn Kudo—charged students between $700 and $1,500 USDT per course level, attracting hundreds of participants per stream.
Investigative findings indicate the organizers used a business-splitting model, fragmenting revenue across approximately thirty second-group sole proprietors (FOPs). State Tax Service audits reveal that despite actual revenue reaching roughly 30 million UAH in 2024 alone, individual tax declarations were systematically capped below the simplified tax bracket limit of 5.9 million UAH. Total unpaid value-added and corporate income taxes for 2023–2024 stand at over 70 million UAH.
«Instead of professional training, students were offered freely available online material before being steered into high-risk financial instruments. In most cases, this resulted in the complete loss of invested assets,» the court ruling states.
Detectives found that course graduates were funneled into secondary monetization schemes. Select participants were encouraged to place funds into «trust management» promising 5% to 30% monthly returns without legally binding contracts. Losses were subsequently attributed to market volatility.
Additionally, organizers launched proprietary tokens in mid-2024—including FURMULA, EMOJI, WATER, RAFPAF, and POPCORN. None of these assets achieved listings on major centralized exchanges such as Binance, KuCoin, or Coinbase. Instead, presales were executed via the decentralized Raydium exchange on Solana and Aptos. Investigators assert that organizers artificially inflated token prices before siphoning liquidity into private wallets, rendering the assets worthless. Proceeds were allegedly used to acquire luxury vehicles, including a Ferrari 296 GTB and a Lamborghini Urus.
A forensic economic examination is currently underway as BEB detectives continue gathering evidence. Representatives of Cryptology Key have not issued a public statement regarding the ongoing investigation.