An international network of call centers was exposed in Kyiv: the suspects defrauded thousands of Turkish and EU citizens

The headquarters of a large-scale international network of fraudulent call centers was discovered in the center of Kyiv, which has victimized thousands of people, including citizens of Turkey and European Union countries.

This is stated in the material of the Turkish publication Yenidevir Gazetesi. According to the material, the organizers of the scheme embezzled millions, using offices in ordinary business centers of Kyiv to conduct illegal financial transactions.

The publication writes that the scheme operated under the guise of legitimate “white-collar” companies, but in reality, call center operators used phone calls to extort astronomical amounts of money from victims.

Yenidevir Gazetesi indicates that the key organizer of the network is 35-year-old entrepreneur Artur Yermolayev, founder of the Ukrainian Esports Federation. According to the publication’s sources, he used connections in the IT sector to build infrastructure in Kyiv and attract partners in Turkey.

On December 20, 2025, Yermolayev was detained by Europol in an EU country and is currently cooperating with the investigation. According to sources of Ukrainska Pravda, the detention was related to the activities of call centers.

The network was run administratively by Turkish citizen Serdem Koç, according to journalists. She developed conversation scripts to manipulate victims and controlled the flow of funds. After being deported from Ukraine last fall, Koç is believed to have fled to Malaysia to avoid extradition to Turkish authorities, where she faces severe punishment.