MBS Blog

Recently, one of my business partners here in Ukraine read his bank statement and discovered that he was the victim of fraud.  Parties unknown had withdrawn money from his European bank account…in Egypt. Well, today it was my turn to be the victim.

What the experience of my partner and I have in common is this:

We, like other travelers and ex-pats, use our bank debit cards to make withdrawals at ATMs here in Odessa.

…and the money was withdrawn from each of our accounts in Egypt.  In my case,  the fraud occurred after I had made a small withdrawal from UKRSIBANK (a member of the Paribas Group) here in Odessa this past Sunday. I am still verifying if my business partner had made any withdrawals from the same bank ATM.

I am not an expert on fraud, but I would think that banks would take precautionary measures to prevent this sort of thing.  Maybe it is an “inside job?” Would not surprise me. Bank fraud is prevalent throughout Ukraine. I was told this before I entered Ukraine. In fact, it is difficult to order goods and services online, and pay with a credit card.

Recently, a  Ukrainian banker(s) stole a BILLION U.S. dollars!! This was part of the money given to Ukraine by the International Monetary Fund. While the amount illegally withdrawn from my account was only about $1,000., there are probably scores of others who may have had considerably more taken.

One can only hope that Ukrainian banks-especially those that are foreign subsidiaries of larger institutions-are monitored more carefully by their parent companies, and that this type of fraud is addressed. Ukraine has great potential as a tourist destination as well as a place to do business. It would be a shame if it became known as a nation of thieves.