Ukraine cracks down on intl fraud network behind $6 mln crypto investment scam
Ukrainian police, in coordination with international counterparts, have dismantled a criminal organization that defrauded Latvian citizens of over UAH 6 million through fake cryptocurrency investment platforms, the National Police's Cyber Police Department reported on Tuesday.
Operating since 2022, the suspects created fraudulent broker platforms that mimicked legitimate trading websites. They recruited victims through an extensive network of call centers across Ukraine.
"The group aggressively marketed their fake investment services on social media and employed social engineering techniques to lure victims with promises of high returns. They persuaded targets to install remote access software, giving the scammers control over their devices and access to sensitive financial information," the police said.
To launder their illicit gains, the criminals registered as sole proprietors and declared their income as payment for IT services.
Investigators tracked the movement of virtual assets from victim wallets to final recipients and collected digital evidence of the group's illegal activities.
With support from TacTeam special units of the Patrol Police Department, law enforcement conducted over 30 raids across several Ukrainian regions, targeting criminal hubs, suspects' residences, vehicles, and other related locations.
Authorities seized computer equipment, servers, crypto wallets, mobile phones, handwritten records, bank cards, flash drives, and luxury cars bought with stolen funds. The seized assets have been frozen by court order.
The group's organizer and three accomplices have been formally charged under Part 4 of Article 190 of Ukraine's Criminal Code (fraud), in the version in effect prior to August 11, 2023. Courts have imposed pre-trial detention and 24-hour house arrest as preventive measures based on motions from investigators.
