A criminal group operating in Ukraine defrauded Ukrainians of more than UAH 45 million under the pretext of selling drones for AFU. The organisers are two women.
What is known about the fraudulent group
Victims collected funds for drones of various modifications and their components to be sent to military friends in the war zone.
According to the results of monitoring offers for the sale of UAVs, 92 victims transferred more than 45 million hryvnias to the fraudsters.
It is noted that in February of this year operatives of the Department of Criminal Investigation and National Police investigators conducted 7 searches at the places of residence of the suspects in the territory of Kyiv, Odesa and Volyn regions, during which they seized bank cards, mobile phones, computer equipment, registration numbers and financial documents — economic activities used by fraudsters.
In addition, the property of the suspects worth more than 4.5 million hryvnias and 28.6 million hryvnias in the bank accounts of the enterprises involved in the scheme were seized.
The law enforcement officers established that the victims were attracted by the price of the offered goods, which was 20-25% less than the market price. In addition, the attackers did fulfill several first orders in order to mislead the victims. The vast majority of customers received neither drones nor money. Fraudsters disposed of the received funds at their own discretion, the police said.
How the scheme worked and what is known about the organisers
Payment was made in cash and by transferring funds to their bank cards, crypto wallets, and accounts of business entities controlled by them. After that, the funds were withdrawn through the fictitious purchase of auto parts and textiles, which were not delivered, and travel services, which were accordingly not provided.
The organisers are two women. In addition, the law enforcement officers established that during the blackouts they sold and did not deliver 40 Starlinks, and during the gasoline crisis they sold invalid fuel coupons. According to the proceedings, in 2023, the National Police investigators already announced their suspicions and sent the indictments to the court for consideration of the merits of the case.
Criminals did not supply more than 600 drones of various types for the needs of Ukraine's Armed Forces.
The organisers and their accomplice were charged with fraud committed on a particularly large scale by an organized group (Chapters 3, 4, 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code). The main organiser has been hiding abroad for a long time, but currently the police are taking measures to arrest her in international wanted.
The other two suspects were arrested and remanded in custody. They face up to twelve years in prison.
