A Kyivstar subscriber faced a debt of 41,296 UAH after their SIM card was blocked. Here's what the court decided.

A man is being asked to settle a debt of 41,296 hryvnias related to a loan agreement. However, it has come to light that this debt arose due to fraudsters who gained access to his Kyivstar SIM card. This information is detailed in a decision from the October District Court of Kryvyi Rih, published on December 4, 2024.

The financial institution demands repayment of the loan agreement dated September 6, 2021, amounting to 41,296 hryvnias. However, the man states that on June 9, 2021, he was unable to use the mobile services associated with his long-held number. After making an inquiry to the mobile operator Kyivstar JSC, he was informed that his SIM card had first been blocked and then reissued. Subsequently, it was discovered that during the time he had no access to his mobile number, someone accessed his Google account and email, where his personal information was stored. After regaining access and reviewing his search history, he found numerous search queries related to various financial organizations. Suspecting that his personal information and phone number might have been used by third parties, he began contacting the mentioned financial organizations. This led him to discover that a loan agreement had been issued in his name without his knowledge or consent.

Given these circumstances, the man filed a written report with the police regarding the fraudulent actions that resulted in loan agreements being issued in his name. This information was subsequently recorded in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations, and a pre-trial investigation was initiated.

Case Review

The court found that a loan was issued on June 9, 2021, under contract No. 4393603, specifically, 2,000 hryvnias were transferred to a bank card (issuing bank "A-BANK"). However, this does not confirm that the man received the funds of 2,000 hryvnias based on the signed agreement, as the informational note from LLC "Payments Online" No. 59/04 dated April 2, 2024, does not indicate who owns the card account mentioned in it. Additionally, in the response to the inquiry dated November 18, 2024, provided by the first deputy chairman of the board of JSC "Accent-Bank," it was noted that as of November 15, 2024, there were no open accounts, contracts, or other records concerning the citizen in question at JSC "Accent-Bank," and no documents regarding any interaction with the bank were available.

What was the court's decision?

The court denied the claim. The financial institution did not provide evidence to confirm the man's ownership of the bank card (issuing bank "A-BANK") to which the loan funds were transferred, nor did they prove that he received funds under the loan agreement dated June 9, 2021.

"The court believes that the plaintiff has not proven, beyond reasonable doubt, the circumstances under which the defendant should be liable under loan agreement No. 4393603 dated September 6, 2021," the court emphasized.