NBU bans Lithuanian crypto wallet Trustee Plus in Ukraine

The National Bank of Ukraine has banned the activities of the Lithuanian company Trustee Global UAB and its mobile application Trustee Plus in Ukraine. This is reported on the official website of the regulator.

During the inspection, the NBU found that the Trustee Plus app provided financial services for which a foreign company had to open a branch in Ukraine and obtain a license.

In particular, Trustee Global UAB allowed users to transfer funds without opening an account through a built-in P2P service. This tool allowed users to deposit and withdraw funds in hryvnias from the crypto wallet by exchanging payment card details between users.

In addition, from April 2024 to May 2025, a virtual Trustee payment card issued through the Polish company Quicko was available to customers.

The service's popularity in Ukraine was significant: the country ranks first in terms of traffic to the Trustee Plus website, and the app itself is ranked 18th in the Finance category in the Ukrainian App Store and Play Store. At the same time, the company conducted active advertising campaigns, emphasizing the possibility of circumventing regulatory restrictions, and engaged Ukrainian influencers for this purpose.

Trustee Global UAB tried to deny the allegations. Representatives of the company claimed that it does not focus on the Ukrainian market, and that payment services are actually provided by its Polish partner Quicko.

However, the NBU rejected these arguments, emphasizing that users entered into an agreement with Trustee Global UAB and received all services directly in its application. Moreover, the NBU employees were able to register in the application using Ukrainian documents, indicating a Ukrainian address, and successfully conducted all operations from Kyiv without any obstacles.

As a result of the investigation, the company was obliged to immediately stop providing services until it fully brings its activities in line with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation.

• In early September, the NBU called premature the idea of including cryptocurrency in Ukraine's international reserves.