Verdict for 9,000 fake signatures: ex-SPS official Pashayev received a suspended sentence and will pay 300 thousand to the AFU

Verdict for 9,000 fake signatures: ex-SPS official Pashayev received a suspended sentence and will pay 300 thousand to the AFU

Thousands of fake electronic signatures for occupied territories: ex-official of the State Tax Service Pashayev received a sentence.

This is reported by "Court by Schemes".

The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of the city of Kyiv issued a verdict to the former chief state inspector of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, Ruslan Pashayev. The official organized a large-scale scheme for creating fake electronic keys for citizens from temporarily enemy-occupied regions.

Essence of the scheme: «QES on demand»

According to the case materials, no later than December 2022, Ruslan Pashayev, working in the department for ensuring electronic trust services of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, received a proposal via Telegram from a person named «Serhiy». It concerned the production of qualified electronic signatures (QES) for pensioners located in temporarily occupied territories, without their physical presence and without original documents.

Understanding the complexity of the process, Pashayev created an organized group, involving colleagues — inspectors of the State Tax Service of Ukraine and the Main Directorate of the State Tax Service in Kyiv. Using their official position and special software, the group members made unauthorized changes to databases, issuing digital signatures based solely on copies of documents sent via messengers.

Astronomical scale

The group’s activities impress with their volumes. In just one episode, the generation of 7,549 fake QES was established. In total, the case materials mention figures exceeding 9,000 illegally created electronic signatures for residents of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya regions.

These digital keys were later used by third parties for unauthorized access to state registers and dissemination of confidential information.

Plea agreement and punishment

Ruslan Pashayev fully admitted his guilt and cooperated with the investigation, entering into an agreement with the prosecutor of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

On March 9, 2026, in case No. 761/836/26, the court ruled:
• To find Ruslan Natigovich Pashayev guilty under a number of articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Part 3 of Article 28, Part 3 of Article 362; Part 2 of Article 361-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
• To sentence him to a final punishment of 5 years of imprisonment.
• To prohibit him from holding positions in government agencies related to work in computer networks for a period of 2 years.

However, taking into account the remorse and cooperation, the court released the convict from the real term, setting a probation period of 2 years.

300 thousand to the AFU
One of the conditions of the agreement was Pashayev’s obligation to provide financial assistance to the Ukrainian army. Within 15 days after the verdict, the convict must transfer 300,000 hryvnias to the needs of one of the military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.