Fraudsters who had defrauded soldiers released from captivity and stolen about million hryvnias exposed. VIDEO&PHOTOS
Police officers exposed a criminal organisation that fraudulently seized the funds of servicemen released from Russian captivity.
According to Censor.NET, citing the Prosecutor General's Office, the total confirmed amount of losses is about one million hryvnias.
The fraudsters obtained personal data of former prisoners of war from unidentified sources and called them, posing as employees of banking institutions or law enforcement agencies. Possessing information about the victims' service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and their time in captivity, the fraudsters abused the trust and vulnerable psychological state of the military.
The fraud was exposed by investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine jointly with operatives of the Cyber Police Department and the Security Service of Ukraine in Kharkiv region.
During the pre-trial investigation, it was established that the fraudsters convinced the victims that payments were to be made to their accounts, but due to "technical problems" the funds were not credited. To "resolve the issue", the fraudsters would lure one-time codes from SMS, which they would use to log in to online banking and gain full control over the accounts. There were documented cases when a serviceman was convinced to send a bank card by mail, after which it was used to withdraw cash and purchase goods in jewellery stores, electronics retailers, grocery and alcohol supermarkets.
The defendants were brothers from Odesa region who were unemployed and spent the illegally obtained funds on jewellery, mobile phones, appliances and food. In December 2024, the organiser was sentenced to four years' imprisonment on probation for similar crimes, but continued his criminal activity while on probation.
Law enforcement officers conducted searches at the suspects' residences and seized mobile phones, bank cards, about UAH 200,000 in various currencies and gold jewellery purchased at the expense of the military. Both brothers were detained: at least 10 Ukrainian defenders suffered from the actions of the criminals.
Police investigators served the suspects with a notice of suspicion for creating and participating in a criminal organisation and committing large-scale fraud by a criminal organisation.
The offenders face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. In the near future, the court will consider a motion to impose a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention without bail.
