About 10 million Russians transferred money to so-called dropper cards in 2024.
Typically, these are ordinary people who buy a bet in an online casino or cryptocurrency.
Bogdan Shablya, head of the Financial Monitoring and Currency Control Service of the Bank of Russia, told RBC about this.
He said that about 10 million bank clients made transfers to dropper cards.
According to Bogdan Shablya, the figure of involvement is serious, considering the volume of operations in the shadow economy of the Russian Federation.
He recalled that in 2023, the number of economically active Russians amounted to 76.04 million people.
Considering the 146.15 million people living in the country, it is easy to assume that at least 13% of working-age Russians are involved in such transfers.
Shablya emphasized that the drop cards serve the settlements of shadow businesses with Russians.
Shadow sites are usually attracted by online casinos, crypto exchanges, pirate sites and drug shops.
He emphasized that the shadow business conducts its operations from abroad, accepting non-cash money from Russians in payment for its services.
Author: Elena Gutyro
