SBU, police expose fraudsters operating under guise of charitable foundation
The State Security Service (SBU) and the National Police have dismantled a large-scale scheme to embezzle charitable contributions for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), which operated in the south and east of Ukraine, the special service reported.
"Six members of a criminal group who embezzled donations for the defense of our state were simultaneously detained in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa and Kamianske. As the investigation established, the suspects, under the guise of volunteers, collected funds allegedly to support Ukrainian soldiers on the front line," the SBU said on Telegram on Wednesday.
However, as law enforcement officers found out, the businessmen allocated only 10% of the total amount of contributions for the needs of the front, and the remaining 90% was distributed among all participants in the "scheme."
According to the case materials, the operation operated under the cover of a charitable fund founded in Dnipro by a local repeat offender who is under investigation for drug trafficking. He involved nine more accomplices in the "scheme," whom he disguised as military uniforms for the purpose of conspiracy. At the same time, only two of the participants in the deal had any connection with military service (they were veterans).
To collect donations, the participants dispersed to different cities, where they set up cash boxes on central streets. In just one episode, law enforcement officers documented the theft of UAH 556,000 of charitable aid.
During searches of the fund's office and the places of residence of the participants, computer equipment, smartphones and draft records with evidence of crimes were seized. The money collected as donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine was also found in the hands of the businessmen.
Currently, the head of the fund and five of his accomplices have been notified of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 201-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal use for profit of humanitarian aid, charitable donations or free assistance, committed by a group of persons in advance of the martial law). An investigation is underway to bring all the guilty parties to justice.
The perpetrators face up to seven years in prison with confiscation of property. At the end of the message, the SBU press service emphasized that "this criminal proceeding concerns only one charitable foundation and has no connection with other volunteer and charitable organizations of Ukraine. The SBU highly values the volunteer and charitable movement that exists in our state. We call on citizens to help the Security and Defense Forces in every way, but to be careful to avoid fraudulent schemes."
