“Earned” on the sale of non-existent generators and fuel for tens of millions of hryvnias: the National Police conducted a special operation to arrest fraudsters
Taking advantage of the situation in the state in connection with the aggression of the Russian Federation, the attackers “sold” those goods that were in demand - industrial electric generators, diesel fuel and mineral fertilizers. The police detained the organizer and 9 active participants of the criminal organization. The investigation has already established that the amount of damage to the victims is about UAH 50 million. However, according to law enforcement officials, the number of victims of criminal activity of the defendants is much higher, and the amount of damage is more than UAH 100 million.
The operatives of the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine together with the investigators of the Special Criminal Investigation Department of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police conducted a large-scale special operation to detain 10 members of the criminal organization — they are suspected of fraudulent appropriation of funds in particularly large amounts, the creation of criminal organization and participation in it, as well as in the legalization of funds obtained criminally.
According to the deputy head of the department - head of the department for the detection of crimes against property of the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police Alexander Nikolenko, in 2022 the residents of Kiev created a criminal organization - a stable, clearly structured, hierarchical association with the distribution of roles.
Malefactors, through intermediaries, registered fictitious firms for the sale of mineral fertilizers, diesel fuel and industrial power generators. To search for buyers, an extensive system of call centers operated, whose employees advertised goods on the Internet and made mass SMS mailings.
For stability of functioning, the participants of the organization were divided into separate structured groups with designated leaders who were responsible for the preparation and conduct of individual stages of criminal activity.
When communicating with buyers, attackers used Internet telephony with virtual numbers, exchange and creation of documents were carried out exclusively with the help of electronic computer technology, and for the transfer of funds they provided details of fictitious firms specially created for criminal activity.
Among the buyers were mainly agricultural enterprises and specialized farms, as well as enterprises that wanted to prepare for a possible “blackout” and planned to purchase power generators. Those involved were well acquainted with the specifics of trade in such goods, provided detailed advice on the choice and assured of the reliability of supplies.
“The organizer directly organized criminal call centers on the territory of Kyiv that committed fraudulent actions. Participants of the organization made calls to people, SMS mailing to agricultural enterprises and other enterprises about the sale of products. At the same time, the offer was lower than the market value. When buyers began to be interested in the offer and called scammers, the call-center employees “hired” potential buyers,” Oleksandr Nikolenko said.
After concluding contracts for the supply of goods, buyers transferred funds to fictitious enterprises. However, the products were not delivered, and the attackers did not answer the calls:
“The organizer of the criminal organization also participated in tenders. To do this, he bought enterprises with a clean financial history, issued them as counterparties and submitted documents for participation in tenders - set the market price 10-15 kopecks less than the average and won them.”
The specificity of participation in these tenders was the conclusion of a contract for a full subscription. After signing the contract for the supply of products within ten days, the organizer provided a current account to the bank, where the victims sent the funds. Thus, fraudsters had 10 days to withdraw money either from financial institutions or a crypto wallet and disappear.
“Criminal investigation officers and investigators of the Main Investigation Department assisted by the security services of state enterprises and the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine have warned such fraudulent actions against the two listed state-owned enterprises. The total amount of damage to the state could be about 30 million hryvnias.
Law enforcement officers documented 14 episodes of fraud. The total amount of damage to the victims is about 50 million hryvnias. At the same time, the number of victims of the activities of a criminal organization can be several times more, and the amount of losses — more than 100 million UAH.
Yesterday, March 1, on the basis of the court decision, the employees of the Criminal Investigation Department together with the investigators of the Main Investigation Department under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General conducted 59 searches in the cities of Kyiv, Kiev, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Volyn, Chernivtsi Sumy and Sumy regions. In total, 250 police officers — operational officers, investigators and special agents — were involved in the events.
The events were held in the residences of the defendants, in their cars, in call centers, banking institutions where money and documents were stored and in the offices of financial institutions, where the attackers were issued cash. Law enforcement officers seized documents on the functioning of fictitious enterprises, seals and stamps, bank cards through which stolen funds were withdrawn, mobile phones, computer equipment, 9 premium cars that were purchased during the criminal activity, and about UAH 10 million.
The organizer and nine active participants were detained in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. They were announced on suspicion of committing several crimes:
- creation, leadership of a criminal community or criminal organization, as well as participation in it);
- fraud in particularly large sizes
- legalization of property obtained by criminal means.
Investigators filed a petition with the court for the election of preventive measures for the defendants.
For the committed offenses, the suspect faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
National Police of Ukraine
