Law enforcers of Ukraine, Lithuania and Latvia expose 14 members of criminal organisation who defrauded EU citizens of over UAH 11 million. PHOTOS
In March 2025, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) exposed members of a criminal organisation that defrauded citizens of the European Union through the operation of a call centre in Kamianske, Dnipro region.
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, Censor.NET reports.
Who participated in the special operation?
Prosecutors of the Dnipro Regional Prosecutor's Office, in cooperation with the competent authorities of the Republics of Lithuania and Latvia, with the support of Eurojust, conducted a joint special operation.
14 members of the criminal organisation were served a notice of suspicion on the facts of misappropriation of property by deception committed on a particularly large scale as part of a criminal organisation (Art. 255(1), (2), Art. 28(4), Art. 190(4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
How did the attackers act?
According to the investigation, the offenders organised a fraudulent call centre in Kamianske. The suspects extorted money from EU citizens by means of telephone calls.
The "employees" of the centres used encrypted calls to pose as employees of law enforcement agencies and foreign banking institutions. Under the pretext of qualified assistance, they misled the victims and lured them out of confidential bank account data, keys and passwords to access online banking.
Subsequently, the victims' funds were transferred to controlled accounts and crypto wallets.
Who are the victims?
So far, 6 victims have been identified, who suffered damage totalling over UAH 11 million. The victims are citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and Ukraine.
What was found during the searches
During the 35 authorised searches, almost UAH 1 million and USD 160 thousand in cash, bank cards, computer equipment, mobile phones, SIM cards, draft records, documentation, and cars were seized.
13 members of the criminal organisation were detained in accordance with Article 208 of the CPC of Ukraine. Pre-trial restraints have been imposed on them.
