The Security Service of Ukraine, together with the National Police and law enforcement agencies of Latvia and Lithuania, conducted a large-scale operation to expose an international fraud network that operated under the guise of cryptocurrency investments. The main target of the scammers were citizens of the European Union, to whom they offered to invest funds in fictitious crypto projects.
This is reported by Business • Media
“The Security Service of Ukraine, in collaboration with the National Police and law enforcement agencies of the Baltic countries, uncovered a fraudulent scheme aimed at citizens of the European Union. According to the investigation, the perpetrators offered foreigners the opportunity to invest in supposedly promising crypto projects.”
In Dnipro, the organizer of the criminal group and ten of its members were arrested. According to the investigation, over the course of a year, the participants in the scheme received at least 1.2 million US dollars in illegal profits.
How the Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme Operated
The criminals organized four call centers where operators called EU citizens and convinced them to invest through fake electronic trading platforms. Victims were shown a fake cryptocurrency exchange interface with fabricated asset growth charts and imaginary profits. All this data had nothing to do with real trading operations and was generated by the scammers.
At the initial stage, clients were offered to make a small deposit, after which they were shown fictitious “dividends.” This was intended to create the illusion of successful investments to encourage victims to increase their investment amounts. When the invested funds grew to significant sums, the organizers of the scheme ceased contact with the investors and blocked them. The money was transferred to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by the members of the criminal group.
Searches, Seizures, and Charges
Law enforcement conducted about 40 searches in the offices and residences of the suspects. During the investigative actions, mobile phones, computer equipment, and funds totaling approximately 21 million UAH in equivalent were seized, which, according to preliminary data, were obtained through criminal means.
The arrested individuals were informed of their suspicion under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including:
- creation and leadership of a criminal organization, as well as participation in it (parts 1, 2 of Article 255);
- fraud committed on a particularly large scale using electronic computing technology (parts 4, 5 of Article 190);
- legalization (laundering) of property obtained through criminal means, on a particularly large scale (part 3 of Article 209).
The suspects face up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. Investigative actions are ongoing.