Law enforcement uncovered an organized criminal group that, under the guise of trading on stock markets, embezzled funds from citizens of the European Union.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Fraud Scheme: Investments in Cryptocurrency and Stocks of Fake Companies
The perpetrators offered potential victims the opportunity to invest in cryptocurrency and securities of little-known, so-called “promising” companies. To facilitate this, a call center with 20 workstations was set up in Kyiv, where employees called EU citizens and convinced them to invest money in investment projects.
The call center managers, who were responsible for attracting “VIP clients,” created an illusion of successful trading on global exchanges for the victims. They installed special remote access software on the clients’ computers, allowing the criminals to control the victims’ devices and demonstrate fictitious profits.
Scale of the Fraud and Law Enforcement Actions
When the victims agreed to invest, they transferred funds to the scammers’ cryptocurrency wallets. After that, the group members exchanged the received money for cash through exchange points in Kyiv.
“Among the victims are over 30 individuals. During the investigation, it was established that only five of them ‘invested’ 8 million 200 thousand hryvnias in cryptocurrency.”
During the special operation, the police conducted 21 searches, seizing over 1.4 million US dollars, more than 5.8 million hryvnias, and 17 thousand euros in cash obtained through criminal means. The individuals involved in the case face charges for organizing mass fraud and creating a criminal organization.