Kommersant learned about the growing popularity of cross-border payments on the darknet

Cross-border payment services are gaining popularity on the dark web. About it writes Kommersant with reference to interviewed experts.

According to the newspaper, earlier such proposals were single, but recently their number has increased tenfold. We are talking about services for settlements between foreign consumers and Russian counterparties for goods and services provided by them.

Anna Avakimyan, Chief Analyst of RegBlok, explained this trend by the uncertainty of small and micro businesses in uninterrupted banking services in the current conditions.

Kommersant has studied ads in which it proposes to create a chain for accepting payments from the CIS countries, Europe and Asia. Withdrawal of funds is possible once a day from 100,000 rubles, follows from the proposals. So, first of all, the client must contact the intermediary through the Telegram channel or write to him by e-mail to discuss the conditions. After that, the foreign buyer transfers funds to the bank card or SIM card of the intermediary, who, in turn, transfers money to the seller in cryptocurrency. Fiat can also be paid on individual terms, the publication clarifies.

Kommersant notes that these services compete with such legal companies as Prodamus and Life Pay, which provide services for accepting foreign Visa and Mastercard cards to pay for goods and services in Russia. The commission in this case is 8.5-10%.

Avakimyan notes that the darknet service is more expensive, since 20-30% of the counterparty’s expenses can be disguised in the form of commissions for conversion operations and for opening auxiliary accounts. According to Sergey Trukhachev, head of Internet threat analytics at RTK-Solar, sometimes the commission can exceed 50% of the amount of money spent.

Partner at the Timofeev, Gusev & Partners Bar Association Vladimir Chikin notes that such services are needed for the export of goods and services from Russia to any CIS country in cases where the products are subject to one or another type of state control in the Russian Federation, which the exporter cannot or cannot wants to comply. The lawyer recalled that in the CIS, Russian goods are not subject to import duties, but other fees may be imposed on them.

Elena Mende, lawyer of the Anatoly Sobchak Baltic Bar Association, spoke about the case when a foreign correspondent bank refused to make a payment due to the Crimean residence of the recipient of funds. She explained that with the help of services on the dark web, the recipient is trying to avoid such risks.

At the same time, Mende notes, a significant part of such operations takes place in the gray zone. According to her, because of such transactions, the owner of the acquiring, and sometimes the seller of services, can be held liable for illegal banking activities and money laundering.

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