In the Lviv region, a group of people headed by two local residents misled those wishing to illegally cross the border, in particular, they promised two people assistance in crossing the border for $15,000, allegedly through the "Shlyakh" system. This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigation, UNN reports.
Details
SBI officers uncovered a criminal group in Lviv region that defrauded men trying to illegally cross the border. The group was created by two local residents who involved a law enforcement officer, a serviceman and the son of a judge from another region in the crime.
In late December, they were approached by two people who wanted to get to Europe. They offered the "clients" a payment of $15,000 to enter them as volunteers in the Shlyakh system in order to legally cross the border. The offenders forged the relevant documents, knowing about the "clients'" plans to transport large amounts of cash.
On March 28, during a meeting in Lviv, they handed the men fake certificates of inclusion in the Shlyakh system and sent them to a car that was supposed to take them to the border. The driver, who was unaware of the group's criminal intentions, drove the men to a selected location in a village in the Yavoriv district. There, other gang members dressed as employees of the territorial center for recruitment and social support were waiting for them. After checking the documents, they informed the men that the certificates had been forged.
The perpetrators threatened to call an investigative team and send the men to the front. They offered the men to avoid problems with the law for $20,000.
After the money was transferred, all the criminals were detained by law enforcement.
Five members of the criminal group were charged with committing extortion by prior conspiracy during martial law (Article 27(3) - Article 189(4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Two of the group's leaders are additionally charged with fraud (Article 190(5) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), which carries a sentence of up to 12 years in prison.
At the request of the State Bureau of Investigation, the court imposed on all suspects a preventive measure in the form of detention with the possibility of bail. The bail for the organizers is UAH 1.5 million and UAH 1.3 million, while the bail for the other members of the group is about UAH 500 thousand.
Recall
The criminal organization , with the participation of the top management of the concern, illegally supplied components worth more than UAH 160 million to the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation.