Foreigners were robbed of tens of millions: organizers of an international fraudulent exchange were exposed in Kyiv
In Kyiv, law enforcement officers have uncovered an organized group that fraudulently embezzled foreign citizens’ funds through pseudo-trading platforms. Three participants have been reported for suspicion, a pre-trial investigation is underway, and the losses exceed millions of hryvnias.
This was reported by the National Police of Ukraine.
According to the investigation, the suspects created a call center with 20 jobs and pseudo-trading platforms, offering potential clients to invest in cryptocurrency and shares of little-known companies. To demonstrate profits, they installed special software on the victims’ computers, which allowed them to control trading and create the illusion of success.
“Managers of VIP clients gave the victims a false idea of successful trading on world exchanges,” the police noted.
Clients transferred funds to crypto wallets, after which the attackers cashed them out through exchange offices in Kyiv. According to the investigation, five victims invested 8 million 200 thousand hryvnias, the total amount of losses is being determined.
Police conducted 21 searches at the suspects’ residences, call center, and cars. Over one million dollars, more than 5.8 million hryvnias, and 17,000 euros in cash, computer equipment, data carriers, and draft recordings were seized.
Three members of the group have been reported on suspicion of fraud, and materials are being prepared for the announcement of suspicion against 15 call center employees. Investigators have filed a motion with the court to take them into custody, and the members face up to 12 years in prison.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
By the way, NABU and SAPO exposed a large-scale scheme organized by officials of the State Special Communications Service and representatives of private companies, thanks to which 90 million hryvnias were stolen during the procurement of drones for the military.
We will remind that Ukrainian cyber police operatives joined the large-scale international special operation Checkmate , which resulted in the neutralization of the dangerous hacker network BlackSuit. The criminals demanded tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency for unlocking encrypted user data.
Previously, the Security Service of Ukraine, together with the National Police and with the support of Czech colleagues, conducted a large-scale special operation to expose an international hacker group.
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