Crypto scammer Sergey Sotnichenko in camouflage: how a Russian with a criminal past became a "Ukrainian soldier"

14:37, 29.03.2025

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Crypto scammer Sergey Sotnichenko in camouflage: how a Russian with a criminal past became a "Ukrainian soldier"

Is he a wolf in sheep’s clothing or merely a Russian clad in Ukrainian army insignia? Our reporters have turned their spotlight on the enigmatic and multifaceted figure of Sergey Sotnichenko.

According to some sources, he is a crypto expert, according to others – the leader of the well-known Russian criminal gang "Kryptonostsy", and according to materials from the SBI – a criminal. However, according to documents, Sergey, known in certain circles as "Kolyvan", is... a contractor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

How did a person involved in a criminal case and, likely, even without Ukrainian citizenship manage to sign a contract with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence? And what do multimillion-dollar flows of "shadow" funds have to do with it? Details of the convoluted, criminal-flavored story – in the new investigation by the StopCor team.

According to open sources, Sergey Sotnichenko is 35 years old and hails from the Russian city of Noyabrsk. However, online information about Sotnichenko is quite contradictory: from PR materials about a powerful crypto expert – to accusations of being involved with the "Kryptonostsy" gang, which specializes in cryptocurrency fraud, banking fraud, and money laundering.

Monthly, according to our colleagues, this cybercriminal group "earns" up to $300,000, out of which $15,000 supposedly constitutes unofficial "rewards" for corrupt law enforcement officers.

At the same time, according to documents, Sotnichenko – is a soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Although this character’s combat path seems to have nothing to do with the front lines. As the media writes, he mostly "storms" the capital’s entertainment venues. He also publicly speaks out against Russian authorities, but... not against Russia or Russians who sponsor the war against Ukraine.

Moreover, according to court documents, Sotnichenko is himself an acting citizen of the aggressor country, who, in addition, was accused by the SBI of financing terrorism.

From open sources, it can be learned that he initially conducted patriotic actions in Russia in honor of Russia Day, but when he was caught there for fraud and declared internationally wanted – he became, so to speak, a forced "guest worker".

This was told to StopCor investigators on condition of anonymity by a person close to Sotnichenko’s circle.

"In Russia, his nickname is "Kolyvan", which he took from Russian folklore about the ’Three Heroes’. This says a lot about him: he even named his children after characters from these legends. His daughter, for example, Zabava, who was born in 2023. He generally loves all this Russian folklore and everything related to Russia. He constantly feels nostalgic and regrets that he can’t go to Russia now", claims our interlocutor.

But Sotnichenko came to Ukraine under the guise of allegedly being a refugee. A supposed "good Russian" saving himself from the "terrible regime" of Russian authorities. However, this is not quite the case. Because Serhiy Sotnichenko, as journalists reported, infiltrated Ukraine back in 2015 through the temporarily occupied territories of the so-called "L/DPR".

And instead of going through the official check procedure, he seemed to have managed to legalize his presence with the help of corrupt law enforcement representatives.

Otherwise, how did a Russian illegally entering Ukraine while being actively wanted by Interpol manage to cross the Belarusian checkpoint in Novi Yarylovychi, Chernihiv region?

"They recently conducted searches at his house in Tuapse. In 2023, if I’m not mistaken. There, there’s a case related to fraud and drugs. I know he still uses, including "nasvay". In Russia, Serhiy is wanted, but here he acts like the master: he drives around in a cool armored car, has a bunch of bodyguards", notes the source.

As reported to StopCor, bodyguards accompany Sotnichenko almost everywhere: they meet him at the entrance of the apartment in a luxury residential complex, take him to the gym "Tsarskyi", to "Socar" in Druzhby Narodiv, where Sergey drinks coffee and tells everyone he’s a soldier.

With security, he always makes visits to underground crypto exchanges, which, according to an insider, he opened in Kyiv and built a financial empire in Ukraine for laundering "dirty" money.

"He scammed Russian crypto investors out of 1000 bitcoins, which at the current rate amounts to over 95 million dollars. That’s why he never separates from his security in Ukraine for a second. He had eight bodyguards, I don’t know exactly how many he has now. This armored Toyota Sequoia, which Sergey drives, is armored. Previously, by the way, Andriy Imanali, a criminal authority nicknamed "Poluzvirik", if you’ve heard of him, used to drive it", says a person closely associated with Sergey on condition of confidentiality.

Sotnichenko, according to our colleagues, supposedly has two underground crypto exchanges in Kyiv, where he himself often visits, according to data from sources and StopCor’s observations.

The first one is in the Pechersk district near "Silpo" on Konovaltsya Street, located right next to the residential complex where Sergey lives. The second point – on Pirohova Street in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Both crypto exchanges are externally unobtrusive. But many surveillance cameras suggest these are not simple "points".

The greatest activity was at the other location, on Pyrohova Street. Observations by the StopCor team showed: every Friday around 12:00, cash is most likely taken out of here. Men with black backpacks entered with empty bags and very soon came out with full ones.

And these two crypto exchanges are likely just the tip of the iceberg. They are controlled by the shadowy company "Cryptofinance Club", the operation of which was organized, according to the SBI, by that same Sotnichenko along with accomplices.

To confirm the company’s activity, our undercover agents exchanged $7,600 for TRC20 cryptocurrency.

Journalists preserved a screenshot of a Telegram correspondence with the company’s administrator, whose contact was indicated on their C1K. And, surprisingly, this Victor directed the media to the same point on Pyrohova. What happened inside the underground crypto exchanger, unfortunately, could not be captured on film since there, according to the agent, there are armed guards, and for "verification" of clients, the company’s security service even conducts a full online "dossier".

For the investigation, which our team has been conducting for over half a year, we engaged specialists with wallets to collect all the evidence and facts. And most of all, whistleblowers were surprised by the financial indicators of "C1K".

As reported to StopCor, users constantly use 4-5 crypto addresses with an average turnover ranging from $2 to $5 million over the periods of activity. The transaction volumes in recent years have increased, and now the company’s average income from commissions is $108-400 thousand in two weeks. And these are only the visible figures through the TRON network, while the true scale of activity may be significantly larger, considering invisible addresses in other networks.

The C1K organization, under Sotnichenko’s control, is engaged not only in cryptocurrency exchanges but also in financial fraud and legalizing shadow income, according to investigative journalists.

The published client list includes fraudulent call centers, gambling businesses, and large entrepreneurs associated with corruption and tax evasion, as well as corrupt officials who need to legalize their cash and criminal groups.

But the surprises do not end there, because, it turns out, Ukraine granted citizenship to Sotnichenko. However, not for long, as his Ukrainian citizenship passport was deemed invalid.

Why? Because Sotnichenko decided to "forget" about his promise to renounce Russian citizenship.

The StopCor editorial received one of the court decisions, which clearly states that Ukrainian citizenship was revoked and for what reason. However, the Russian’s lawyer continues to contest this and claims that a renunciation declaration was submitted. Although the facts suggest otherwise. Incidentally, for the same reason, Sotnichenko’s foreign passport was also deemed invalid, the State Migration Service notes.

According to data from the State Pension Fund Register of the 24th, Sergey Sotnichenko indeed received official income from a military unit. Sotnichenko was listed as a rigger in the material support group, according to documents found by StopCor representatives. According to our sources in military structures, last year, Sotnichenko was transferred from the position of rigger to machine gunner, and now he is attached to one of the foreign legions.

And interestingly, in the contract with the Ministry of Defence, signed in May 2023, he was listed as a citizen of Ukraine, although by that point, it appears he had already been deprived of citizenship. Furthermore, according to the contract’s conditions, Sotnichenko was supposed to move only on weekends and holidays. But whether he adhered to these restrictions is a rhetorical question, considering that only from home, according to journalist observations, he left escorted by security no earlier than 12 and usually went far from the military unit.

And this is by far not all the bonuses for a citizen of the Russian Federation.

In October 2023, he received a commendation from the NSDC, later – a medal and an award pistol Glock 17 Gen.5 with 10 cartridges. For what heroic merits – authorities did not respond to our inquiries on this question. It appears the only purpose of these awards is to create the image of a "protector" to somehow legalize his stay in Ukraine.

Our hero insures himself with a journalist’s ID from his information agency and corrupt connections, as described by a person close to Sotnichenko’s circle.

"Sergey knows how to build ’mutually beneficial’ relationships. His method is simple: ’Give your savings – I will manage them and return plus 30%’ . This is a veiled bribe. They say, this is a simple matter, just start, and further money flows like a river. At first, it looks like friendly help, but eventually, the policeman, without noticing it, becomes part of the scheme, which is no longer so easy to exit from", concludes the source.

Perhaps it is this "protection" that helped Sergey Sotnichenko halt the criminal case initiated against him in ’22 in the SBI?

According to the proceedings’ materials, Sergey, together with accomplices, created a network of illegal conversion centers under the already known name of Crypto Finance Club or "C1K" with the help of employees from the interregional police authority. The network operated on behalf of LLC "ProfInCentre Ukraine" without an NBU license, involving shadowy representatives linked to Sotnichenko in Ukraine and several other countries (including the Russian Federation).

According to sources in law enforcement, the organization also manages accounts linked to drug trafficking, particularly through the Darknet system - activities of a "branch" of an international drug syndicate.

Since 2017, the network, according to case data, has been involved in money laundering of criminal proceeds and illegal cryptocurrency operations, avoiding tax payments and concealing the income sources of its clients. According to the investigation’s evidence, shadow offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg regularly cashed out and transferred funds that were directly or indirectly used to finance terrorist organizations "DPR" and "LPR".

The SBI case materials also mention Sergey’s wife – Emma Shekoyan, who is listed as the owner of the seized property on Yevhena Konovalets Street in Kyiv. That’s where Sotnichenko lives. Incidentally, our hero’s wife – is also Russian, as is her mother Elena Sargasyan. These women managed not only to settle in Kyiv but also to surpass Sotnichenko and obtain citizenship.

Moreover, they did all this at the Ukrainian embassy abroad but... without leaving the boundaries of our country. This is an unprecedented case in state migration practice, emphasize investigators.

This was confirmed by their foreign travel data, which the StopCor team obtained from its sources. We hope that Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies will thoroughly investigate the facts disclosed by us regarding Sotnichenko and his family’s illegal acquisition of Ukrainian citizenship, the creation of a network of underground conversion centers, undermining the Ukrainian economy, and corruption among authorities and law enforcement agencies