The Verkhovna Rada is preparing to consider government bill No. 14327, which is formally intended to bring Ukraine closer to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). At the same time, it provides for a significant expansion of financial control.
Joining SEPA will open up access to a market with over 500 million potential customers for Ukraine. In practice, this will mean that cross-border transfers, for example to Italy or Germany, can become almost instant and be carried out without commissions – similar to domestic transfers between bank accounts.
The bill, developed by the Cabinet of Ministers and registered on December 23, 2025, is submitted as the last technical step before submitting an application to the European Payments Council.
The most resonant norm of the document is the creation of a Register of accounts and individual bank safes of individuals. The system will not reflect the exact balances on accounts or the contents of safes, but will record in which bank, when and which account or safe a citizen opened.
Access to such a register will be granted to:
State Tax Service
State Financial Monitoring
NABU, State Bureau of Investigation, Security Service and National Police
prosecutor’s office
executive service and private executors
Amendments to the Law “On Banks and Banking Activities” provide for the expansion of these bodies’ access to financial data. In addition, banks will be required to transfer to the Ministry of Finance information about accounts, transactions and balances of citizens who apply for state payments or are already receiving them. The document also provides for the creation of a register of ultimate beneficial owners of trusts and similar structures, which should bring Ukrainian legislation closer to international financial control standards.
Fines provided:
510 thousand UAH – for entering inaccurate data about beneficiaries
170 thousand UAH – for untimely submission of information
Also, a copy of the beneficiary’s passport must be certified no earlier than three months before submission to the registrar.
At the same time, the National Bank receives the right to promptly publish sanctions against banks or financial institutions that violate the rules of financial monitoring. Information on fines or other restrictions must be published within five business days. The draft law also provides for the emergence of a new status – a whistleblower in the field of preventing money laundering. Such persons will receive a number of guarantees:
a ban on dismissal or disciplinary punishment for reporting a violation
the right to free legal assistance
the possibility of going to court in the event of pressure from the employer
At the same time, in the event of a legal dispute, it is the employer who must prove that the decision regarding the employee was not related to his whistleblowing activities. Not only employees of companies, but also former employees or even candidates for a position will be able to obtain the status of a whistleblower. The Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Verkhovna Rada and lawyers drew attention to a number of contradictions in the document. In particular, criticism concerns the period of data storage in the registers, the broad powers of tax authorities to request additional information, and the possible risks of abuse through the financial whistleblower mechanism.
Experts also point to legal inaccuracies in the wording of the draft law, which may complicate the application of certain norms in practice. If the draft law is adopted, financial control in the country will be significantly strengthened, and state authorities will receive much wider access to information about bank accounts of citizens and businesses.
