Investigators of the investigative department of the GUNP in Khmelnytsky region completed the pre-trial investigation and directed the indictment against four members of the OZG to the Khmelnytsky City District Court. Violators can face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property, and their leader - up to 15 years in prison.

Recall that on September 24, 2020, during the special operation conducted by the operatives of the Directorate of Strategic Investigations in Khmelnytsky region, criminal police officers, investigators of the investigative department of the police of the region under the procedural guidance of the Khmelnytsky Regional Prosecutor's Office and the support of the special unit KORD, members of the OZG were Detained in Khmelnitsky.

All four members of the criminal group had criminal records and were closely connected with the criminal world, and the organizer of the group was generally the so-called “overseer” of the area.

It was established that the offenders demanded 350 thousand hryvnias of non-existent debt from a private entrepreneur. Threats and physical impact were used for greater persuasiveness, as well as repeatedly damaging the victim's property.

In the course of seven authorized searches, law enforcement officers discovered and seized items with the use of which the attackers committed offenses, debt receipts, etc.

All members of the group were notified by investigators of suspicion under Part 4 of Art. 189 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — extortion committed by an organized criminal group.

In addition, as it was possible to prove during the investigation, in 2012, at the gathering of “thieves in law”, the organizer of the criminal group was granted the status of a “spy” on the territory of the Khmelnytsky region. Being at the top of the thieving hierarchy since then, he identified from among the representatives of the criminal world the persons responsible for the observance of “thieving laws” in the district centers of Khmelnytskyi Oblast and penal institutions, coordinated their activities, and established rules of conduct. The attacker also collected and distributed funds, including those obtained by criminal means.

For engaging in this type of criminal activity, the man was additionally declared another suspicion under Part 3 of Art. 255-1 (Establishment or dissemination of criminal influence) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the sanction of which provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a period of 12 to 15 years with confiscation of property. Throughout the pre-trial investigation, members of the OZG were detained without the possibility of posting bail.

At the moment, the indictment has already been referred to the Khmelnytsky City District Court.

Sector of communication of the police of Khmelnytskyi region