A free app that spent days ranked at the top of the US iPhone App Store turned out to be something its listing never mentioned, and its removal marks the third time in three months Apple has had to unwind the same trick.
The app, called K8CHEN PRO, presents itself as an augmented-reality kitchen modeling tool. It is actually a client for T-Bank, one of Russia’s largest banks and the target of US sanctions. 9to5Mac flagged the listing on August 21.
The App Store page links a privacy policy churned out by a free online generator, one of the tells 9to5Mac highlighted. More striking is the review question the episode renews: sanctioned banking clients keep clearing Apple’s approval process and charting nationally.
The removal follows two similar takedowns in June, when disguised clients for T-Bank and other sanctioned Russian banks surfaced on the App Store. Apple pulled this listing once the report drew attention, as it did the previous two.
The repeated appearances suggest Apple’s review process catches these apps only once they become visible enough to attract outside attention, leaving US users exposed to a sanctioned lender’s client for days at a time.
