National police detained a criminal organization for fraudulent transactions worth UAH 17 million
The operatives of the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine together with the investigators of the Department of Investigation of Particularly Serious Crimes of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police conducted a massive special operation. Law enforcement officers detained 8 members of the criminal organization, who are suspected of fraudulent possession of other people's property in particularly large sizes. There were 58 simultaneous sanctioned searches involving 275 police officers.
It was established that in the period from 2019 to April 2020, in order to fraudulently seize other people's property, the two men created a stable, clearly structured, hierarchical association — a criminal organization.
The attackers registered fictitious firms for the sale of mineral fertilizers and diesel fuel. To search for buyers, an extensive system of call centers operated, which advertised the product on the Internet and made mass SMS mailings. Among the buyers were mainly farms. The defendants were well aware of the specifics of trade in such goods, provided detailed advice on the choice of mineral fertilizers and assured of the reliability of supply. The main condition of the order was a subscription for the goods. However, after receiving the money, the scammers disappeared — they disconnected the phones, changed the location of the call centers and liquidated their “enterprises”.
At the moment, it has been established that the criminal organization included 16 people, including a citizen of the Russian Federation. All participants were assigned roles — some were looking for buyers and placing orders, others were engaged in registration of fictitious enterprises and withdrawal of money obtained by criminal means.
On their account - 54 episodes of fraud. The total amount of damage to the victims is more than 17 million hryvnias.
The attackers were well aware that the systematic commission of crimes and the continued activities of a criminal organization, in which a significant number of participants were involved, could not go unnoticed. Therefore, for the stability of functioning, the participants of the organization were divided into separate structured groups. These groups also had their own leaders, who were responsible for the preparation and commission of certain episodes of criminal activity.
The attackers used IP telephony in communicating with buyers, they produced documents exclusively with the help of electronic computing, and for the transfer of funds, they provided details of fictitious firms specially created for criminal activity.
On June 1, the police conducted 58 simultaneous searches of the places of residence of members of the criminal organization and in call centers in the territory of Kyiv, Kyiv and Odessa regions. 275 law enforcement officers participated in the special operation: investigators of the Main Investigation Department, employees of the Criminal Investigation Department, operational services, departments of criminal analysis and cyber police, police operatives in Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions, KORD fighters and special officers.
As a result, documents on the functioning of fictitious enterprises, seals and stamps, bank cards through which stolen funds were withdrawn, mobile phones, computer equipment, weapons, ammunition and 50 thousand US dollars were seized. Also, 12 premium cars were seized from the attackers, which were purchased during the period of their criminal activity. All cars are placed on the detention site.
8 defendants were detained in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code. They are notified of suspicion of committing crimes provided for in parts 1 and 2 of Art. 255, part 4 of Art. 28 and parts 2, 3, 4 of Art. 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. For the creation of a criminal organization, participation in crimes committed by such an organization, and fraud committed on a particularly large scale, offenders are threatened with up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
Police officers carry out activities aimed at documenting the criminal activities of all defendants.
Procedural leadership is carried out by prosecutors of the Office of the Attorney General.
Communications Department of the National Police of Ukraine
