SSU detains gang of fraudsters who stole almost UAH 1.5 million from accounts of fallen Ukrainian servicemen. VIDEO+PHOTOS
The Security Service and the National Police detained fraudsters who stole funds from the bank accounts of fallen Ukrainian soldiers.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the SSU press centre.
What did the fraudsters do?
According to the case, the offenders withdrew all the savings of the military, whose bodies were taken to Dnipro for forensic examination.
"To commit the crime, the defendants engaged an employee of the regional bureau of forensic examination. He stole personal belongings of the fallen soldiers on the territory of the morgue.
Among the looted items were payment cards and mobile phones whose numbers were registered in online banking. Using these gadgets, the criminals logged into banking applications and transferred money to their own accounts," the statement said.
In this way, the defendants also applied for online loans and then cashed them in at nearby ATMs.
The fraudsters tried to carry out the transactions as quickly as possible before the financial institutions received information about the death of the real bank account holders.
How much money did the fraudsters steal?
In this way, the criminals embezzled almost UAH 1.5 million belonging to the fallen defenders of Ukraine.
The SSU and the National Police detained all five participants of the scheme, who, according to the investigation, acted as part of a criminal group.
Who were the members of the gang?
In addition to the employee of the forensic bureau, the gang included an IT specialist who "hacked" the banking applications of fallen soldiers, as well as a repeat offender with a criminal record.
During the searches of the detainees' homes and cars, mobile phones, SIM cards, and bank cards of the defendants, as well as cards, personal belongings, and uniforms of the deceased soldiers were seized.
Suspicion of gang members
Based on the collected evidence, the offenders were served a notice of suspicion under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Article 190(4) (fraud committed on a large scale);
- ч. 4 of Article 185 (theft);
- ч. 2 of Art. 361 (unauthorised interference with the operation of information and communication systems, electronic communication networks, by prior conspiracy by a group of persons);
- ч. 1 of Art. 358 (forgery of documents, seals, stamps and forms, sale or use of forged documents, seals, stamps).
The offenders are in custody. They face up to 8 years in prison.
