Scheme to embezzle UAH 17 million in charitable aid exposed in Zaporizhzhia
Kyiv • UNN
Law enforcement officers blocked an attempt to illegally seize tens of millions of hryvnias in charitable funds in Zaporizhzhia, exposing an organized group. The founder and director of the association, together with a friend, transferred charitable funds to the accounts of familiar individual entrepreneurs, allegedly as payment for goods and services that were not actually provided.
Law enforcement officers blocked an attempt to illegally seize tens of millions of hryvnias in charitable funds, exposing an organized group operating under the guise of a public organization. This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office, writes UNN.
Details
The Prosecutor General's Office reported the exposure of a group of individuals who attempted to appropriate over UAH 17 million in charitable aid received by a public organization from an international donor. According to the investigation, the founder and director of the association, together with a friend, did not actually carry out the stated statutory activities, but instead focused their efforts on illegal enrichment.
Investigators established that the men transferred charitable funds to the accounts of familiar individual entrepreneurs, allegedly as payment for goods and services that were not actually provided. After that, the money was cashed out and distributed among the participants of the scheme. At this point, the group managed to appropriate over UAH 1 million, and the defendants tried to use another UAH 6 million at their own discretion. Thanks to the intervention of law enforcement officers, the possibility of seizing over UAH 10 million was blocked by arresting the organization's account.
Under the procedural guidance of prosecutors of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Prosecutor's Office, a group of individuals was notified of suspicion of using charitable aid for profit (under Part 3 of Article 201-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and some of its members were notified of suspicion of legalizing funds obtained by criminal means (Part 1 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and of attempting to use charitable aid for profit (Part 3 of Article 15, Part 3 of Article 201-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
During the searches, company seals, financial documents, mobile phones, bank cards, and over 20,000 US dollars were seized. The issue of announcing suspicions to other network participants and choosing preventive measures is currently being resolved.