Ukraine extradites woman who stole UAH 50 mln in fake army fundraising
The National Police of Ukraine extradited from the United Arab Emirates the organizer of a fraudulent scheme under the guise of fees for drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which caused Ukrainians over UAH 50 million in losses.
"The scheme operated from summer to autumn 2023. The participants created a network of controlled enterprises and accounts through which they collected funds, including in cryptocurrency. At the start, they really fulfilled several orders to gain trust, offered discounts of up to 20%, and then embezzled money under the guise of fictitious agreements: about the "supply" of textiles, spare parts, and tourist services that never existed," the National Police’s website said on Wednesday.
The participant was hiding abroad, but at the request of the Ukrainian police, she was detained and extradited for further investigation and prosecution.
The police documented 99 episodes of criminal activity. Dozens of investigative actions were carried out, international connections of the participants in the scheme were established in the UAE, Turkey, and Russia. Property was seized as part of the case: 6 cars, 3 apartments, over 25 bank accounts, and 16 crypto wallets. The total amount of the seized assets exceeds UAH 20 million.
Other episodes of the group's criminal activity were separately documented - during blackouts, the defendants sold non-existent starlinks, and during the fuel crisis, fake fuel coupons. All these facts are attached to the materials of the proceedings.
"Total losses exceeded UAH 50 million - this is the cost of over 600 modern drones that could work on the front line," the report states.
The fraudulent scheme was exposed in February 2024. As a result, the accomplices were detained and charged with fraud and money laundering on a particularly large scale (Part 5 of Article 190 and Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The main organizer was extradited with the assistance of the Department of International Police Cooperation of the National Police of Ukraine in cooperation with the law enforcement agencies of the United Arab Emirates. She is currently in custody. The sanction of the incriminated articles provides for up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
