Law enforcement shut down over 90 fraud call centers - Prosecutor General

Ukraine's Security Service and National Police shut down 94 fraudulent call centers as part of a large-scale special operation under the procedural guidance of the prosecutor's office. This was announced by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

Since the beginning of last week, law enforcement officers conducted 411 searches and eliminated 1,794 operator workplaces. Investigative actions took place in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhzhia, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, as well as other regions of Ukraine.

During the searches, more than 3,336 pieces of computer equipment, 1,346 phones, 5,238 SIM cards, 20 crypto wallets, and 90 bank cards were seized.

Law enforcement also discovered over 2 million dollars, 64 thousand euros, cash in hryvnias, and a kilogram of bank gold in ingots. Among the seized property were luxury watches and jewelry, as well as 22 vehicles, including a Porsche Cayenne, Cadillac Escalade, Bentley Bentayga, Dodge Charger, and Audi, Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz cars.

According to the investigation, the operators posed as investment consultants, bank employees, lawyers, and representatives of state bodies. Victims were persuaded to invest money in fictitious trading platforms or promised to return money previously lost to fraudsters.

To deceive people, the suspects allegedly used forged documents, pre-prepared scripts, and deepfake technology. In some cases, after victims lost their savings, they were persuaded to take out loans, borrow money, or sell property.

The funds obtained were converted into cryptocurrency, distributed among electronic wallets, and withdrawn through third-party accounts. According to investigators, the profits were invested in real estate, land, premium cars, and other luxury items.

Among the identified victims are citizens of Ukraine, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, other countries of the European Union and Central Asia. Preliminary losses they suffered are estimated at over 100 million hryvnias.

Currently, 26 individuals have been notified of suspicion. Law enforcement officers continue to analyze the seized data, identify victims, organizers, and other possible participants in the schemes. To investigate the activities of transnational structures, Ukraine is cooperating with foreign partners within joint investigation teams.

Source: Ruslan Kravchenko