The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has placed a number of Russian financial institutions under international sanctions, making it more difficult to receive or send funds from Russia. This issue is especially relevant for Russians living in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. However, Telegram helps them bypass financial restrictions by providing a platform for money transfers from and to Russia without the participation of banks under sanctions.

Analysts of the site investigaci.cz found out how this scheme works in the Czech Republic. According to their findings, there are anonymous channels on Telegram, where people who have crypto wallets offer their services as live intermediaries and at the same time exchangers. After an agreement with the sender and a transaction through a crypto wallet, a special person receives the funds, exchanges them for the desired currency and personally gives this money to the recipient only after he or she says a special password. The transfer fee is low as intermediaries earn funds on the scheme due to the special exchange rate. According to Transparency International, about $400,000 was withdrawn this way.

All participants in this scheme choose Telegram because of its anonymity and the lack of strict monitoring of financial transactions. This scheme is not the only one on Telegram that helps Russians bypass sanctions. For example, in the messenger one can find a bot that helps Russians buy a subscription to Spotify, which stopped working in Russia in response to the outbreak of a full-scale war against Ukraine.