SBU and National Police exposed a fund that stole donations for the Armed Forces: the organizer turned out to be a recidivist
Kyiv • UNN
Law enforcement officers exposed a large-scale fraudulent scheme in the south and east of Ukraine, where fraudsters, under the guise of helping the Armed Forces, embezzled charitable contributions. In one episode, the embezzlement of UAH 556,000 was documented, and the organizer and five accomplices face up to 7 years in prison.
Police, together with the Security Service of Ukraine, exposed a fraudulent scheme in the south and east of the country. The dealers, under the guise of helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine, embezzled charitable contributions. The attackers kept only a small part of the charitable funds; in one episode alone, they stole more than half a million hryvnias. This was reported by the SBU, writes UNN.
Details
SBU officers liquidated a large-scale scheme, the dealers of which operated under the guise of a charitable foundation. It was created in Dnipro by a local recidivist who is already under investigation for drug trafficking.
The case involves 9 more accomplices of the criminal, only two of whom were related to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For greater credibility, the "volunteers" were dressed in military uniforms.
According to the investigation, the group operated in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Kamianske. The participants of the scheme installed collection boxes for money in crowded places, pretending to help the Armed Forces. However, it turned out that 90% of all proceeds were divided among themselves by the dealers.
In one episode alone, the embezzlement of 556 thousand hryvnias of charitable aid was documented
During searches, law enforcement officers seized a lot of evidence of the crime: computer equipment, phones, draft records, and cash collected as donations.
Currently, the organizer of the fund and five of his accomplices have been charged under Part 3 of Article 201-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal use of charitable donations or humanitarian aid for mercenary motives, committed by a group of persons during wartime). They face up to 7 years in prison with confiscation of property.
The SBU emphasized that this case concerns exclusively a specific fund and has no connection with other volunteer organizations.
We highly appreciate the contribution of volunteers and urge citizens to continue helping the army, but at the same time to be vigilant so as not to fall into fraudulent schemes
The investigation is ongoing.