Three Suspects Arrested for Bank Fraud Scheme in Ukraine

Law enforcement officers have detained three suspects of being members of a criminal group that deceived citizens by posing as bank employees and embezzling funds.

According to the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police of Ukraine in Odesa region, a woman from Rozdilnyansky district reported to the police that unknown men had called her, introduced themselves as bank employees, and seized her funds, which she had received from the state as a benefit for the mother of a deceased Ukrainian soldier.

The woman lost UAH 3 million due to the fraudsters' actions. After conducting a series of investigative and operational measures, law enforcement officers exposed three Poltava residents aged 19, 22 and 29.

According to the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office, to conceal their activities, the suspects used SIP telephony, which allowed them to spoof numbers and imitate calls from official bank lines. In this way, the victims were under the impression that they were receiving calls from the bank's security service.

The suspects were detained in Poltava region. They are currently in custody.

Investigative actions are underway to identify other participants in the fraud, all victims and the losses incurred. Preliminary, the criminals managed to commit about 500 episodes of fraud across the country.

The detainees were served a notice of suspicion of misappropriation of property by deception (fraud) committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons, under martial law, in a particularly large scale, and legalization (laundering) of the proceeds of crime committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons. These crimes are qualified under Article 190(5) and Article 209(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The maximum penalty provided by their sanctions is imprisonment for up to 12 years with confiscation of property.

At the request of the police, the court in Odesa imposed on the two detainees custody as a measure of restraint with the right to be released on bail in the amount of UAH 3 million and UAH 3,633.6 thousand. Another suspect was taken into custody in Poltava region, where he is suspected of another fraud case.

Кирило Бойко