In Odesa, a fictitious SBI officer extorted a fictitious debt of $60 thousand from an acquaintance

Officers of the State Bureau of Investigation detained a former law enforcement officer in Odesa who, posing as their colleague, extorted $60,000 from a man.

According to the SBI press service, in September 2024, the detainee began extorting money from a resident he knew under the pretext of repaying a debt to another friend.

The former law enforcement officer involved an accomplice in the extortion and decided to pose as a SBI employee. For a month, he extorted money from the victim, threatened him, psychologically pressured him, and even followed his family.

According to the SBI, the extortionists posted photos of the victim's family members on social media with provocative captions, sent the victim photos and videos of him and his family being followed. Therefore, the victim decided to give back the money he did not borrow, provided that his family would be left in peace.

On October 11, 2024, the former law enforcement officer and his accomplice were detained while receiving a part of the agreed amount of USD 25 thousand. The former law enforcement officer and his accomplice were served a notice of suspicion of extortion (Part 4 of Article 189 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The suspects were chosen as a measure of restraint - detention for 60 days without the right to be released on bail. The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 12 years.

The investigation is checking the possibility that the defendant was systematically engaged in "extorting" money from other citizens. It also turned out that the former law enforcement officer is already under investigation for bribery and damage to other people's property.

This is not the first time in Odesa Oblast that a former law enforcement officer has tried to impersonate a current employee and extort money. In September, police investigators served a new suspicion on a former traffic police officer who was detained in early August when he received money from an acquaintance who promised to get him a job at the Odesa internal security unit of the National Police. In August, the man promised to secure employment in the Odesa Department of the Internal Security Department of the National Police for USD 8,000 through his alleged contacts in the police and his personal mediation. He was detained while receiving $4,500.

Кирило Бойко