According to a source in the Prosecutor General’s Office, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are preparing a request for the extradition of the former director of the FOREX MMCIS Group financial pyramid, Yuta Romanchenko, from the United Arab Emirates, where she is currently hiding, to Ukraine.
According to the source, Yuta Romanchenko, as well as the former management of the FOREX MMCIS Group pyramid, are connected to the investigation within the frames of the criminal case No. 42022102040000010 (Article 190, Paragraph 4 of the Criminal Code, which is fraud committed in respect of an especially gross amount, or by an organized group. Such behavior is punishable by imprisonment for a term of five to twelve years and forfeiture of property.
According to the materials of case No. 755/4191/22, the Dnipro District Prosecutor’s Office of Kyiv, together with other law enforcement agencies, previously conducted searches in the homes of the management of the FOREX MMCIS Group financial pyramid and related companies, during which they seized documentation and other material evidence about the activities of Cos Consulting, Golden Gate, SPG Group, Sincere Systen, 24FX, AlfaTrade, FOREX MMCIS Group, and other business entities used in the criminal scheme.
According to a representative of the court, “The pre-trial investigation revealed that by using illegal activities to fraudulently seize funds from citizens of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and EU countries, Ukrainian citizens acted on behalf of Cos Consulting, Golden Gate, SPG Group, Sincere Systen, 24FX, AlfaTrade and FOREX MMCIS Group, and other artificially generated organizations associated with the imitation of the process of electronic trading on the international Forex currency market by using personal computers with custom-made software.
By operating representative offices on the territory of Kyiv and acting on behalf of these companies and artificially generated organizations on the so-called Forex market, the above-mentioned persons organized an illegal mechanism for appropriating funds from citizens of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and EU citizens using non-bank electronic payment systems.”
The prosecutor’s office also notes that they had reacted to media reports confirming that Yuta Romanchenko was hiding in Dubai (UAE) and allegedly working for BigIdea FinTech Group, which was only a cover for her legalization and alleged business activities. In addition, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office, it has been established that Yuta Romanchenko is probably currently living with her children on Palm Jumeirah Island in Dubai.
According to the media, Yuta Romanchenko, who has already made her pages on social media private, currently works for BigIdea FinTech Group (BIGIDEA NETWORK FZ-LLC) as the Chief Business Development Officer, CBDO. The relevant photos and information have been posted on the pages of BigIdea FinTech Group on social media. This company provides payment solutions for various companies, including those working in the gambling sector. However, nothing is known about the company as well as about its employees. It was registered just a couple of years ago.
Yuta Romanchenko and her partner Konstantin Kondakov are well known in Ukraine and the CIS countries. In 2007, Konstantin Kondakov, who was born in Melitopol, founded MMCIS, registering it in the state of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Yuta Romanchenko became his deputy. Probably, their relationship soon went beyond the workplace. Around 2014, law enforcement officers in Ukraine and other countries received hundreds of allegations of non-payment of funds and alleged fraudulent activities. After that, the Ukrainian police opened a criminal case against Kondakov and the management of the pyramid, including Romanchenko.
Information about this reached the Russian Federation and other countries. As a result, many fraud cases were filed against the management of MMCIS in several countries around the world. It is also known that in 2024, a Moscow court sentenced seven members of the MMCIS Moscow office to five to eight years in prison.
The Law “On Ratification of the Agreement between Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters” was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in 2013.
