The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police, together with law enforcement authorities of Latvia and Lithuania, dismantled a large-scale fraud scheme that extorted money from European Union citizens.
As a result of joint operations in Dnipro, the leader of the criminal organization and 10 of his accomplices were arrested. They had been defrauding foreigners under the guise of investments in online exchanges.
The investigation found that over the course of a year, the perpetrators earned at least $1.2 million in illegal income from the scheme.
To carry out the operation, the organizers set up four call centers in the city. Operators called EU citizens and offered them to invest in “promising” crypto projects.
To appear convincing, the fraudsters showed clients rapid profit growth on an online platform simulating a cryptocurrency exchange.
The website displayed falsified charts showing the multiplication of asset values and the “profitability” of investments. In reality, these data were fabricated and had nothing to do with actual trading.
At the initial stage, clients were encouraged to make a small first deposit, after which they were “rewarded” with instant dividends.
In this way, victims were hooked and transferred increasingly larger amounts to the crypto wallets of the call center operators.
Once the investment reached its maximum, the perpetrators immediately cut off contact with the client and blocked their communication.
During 40 searches of offices and residences, authorities seized mobile phones and computers containing evidence of the scheme, as well as UAH 21 million (approximately $570,000), likely obtained illegally.
The suspects have been charged under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Parts 1 and 2 of Article 255 (creating and leading a criminal organization, and participating in it)
- Parts 4 and 5 of Article 190 (fraud committed on a particularly large scale using electronic computing equipment)
- Part 3 of Article 209 (legalization [money laundering] of property obtained by criminal means, committed on a particularly large scale).
The suspects are in custody. The investigation is ongoing to hold all participants accountable. They face up to 12 years in prison with asset confiscation.
The operation was carried out by SSU officers in Dnipropetrovsk region in cooperation with foreign partners under the procedural guidance of the regional prosecutor’s office.
