Participants of a criminal organization that, under the guise of providing "legal assistance," appropriated funds from foreign citizens have been exposed and notified of suspicion. This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office, writes UNN.
Details
According to the investigation, the organization operated in Ukraine and specialized in fraudulent schemes with so-called "chargeback" — allegedly returning investments after interacting with fake online brokers. They called residents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and EU countries, introduced themselves as lawyers, and promised to help return money.
Using social engineering methods, they sent fake documents, called on behalf of "judicial" or "tax" authorities, used deepfake technology to mask faces, and forced victims to pay "commissions," "court fees," or "taxes." In many cases, people were persuaded to take out loans or sell property to make another "payment."
Thus, according to preliminary data, more than 4,500 citizens were affected, and the total amount of damages exceeds UAH 186 million.
The organization had a clear hierarchy: from investors and coordinators to team leaders who trained agents, and executors who directly contacted victims. The illegally obtained profits were invested by the participants in elite real estate in Kyiv, land in the suburbs, and premium-class cars.
During the searches, computer equipment, instructions, backup copies of the CRM system, correspondence in messengers, and data on crypto wallets were seized, which made it possible to establish the roles of all participants.
Nine people were detained in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, and they were notified of suspicion of creating and participating in a criminal organization (Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and fraud (Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The issue of choosing preventive measures for them is being resolved.