A business blogger in Kyiv has been charged with defrauding investors of more than 2.4 million hryvnias

Under the procedural supervision of the Svyatoshyn District Prosecutor’s Office in Kyiv, a 33-year-old “business blogger” has been notified of his status as a suspect in a case of fraud on an especially large scale committed under martial law. Through social media, the suspect sold franchises for vending machines, promising to teach people how to make money and raising approximately $10,000 in start-up capital from investors.

According to the investigation, under the pretext of investments, he received over 2.45 million hryvnias from five victims, including two military personnel. One of the servicemen gave the blogger 300,000 hryvnias in combat pay to start his own business. The suspect spent the funds he received on his own needs without fulfilling his obligations, which is why his actions were classified under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (fraud committed on an especially large scale or by an organized group, punishable by 5 to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property), and a pretrial detention order was issued with bail set at 1.5 million hryvnias.

This was reported by the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office.

As a reminder, an official at the municipal enterprise Informatika has been notified of suspicion of fraud involving the procurement of cameras.

In Kyiv, a lawyer was convicted of fraud and extortion of $30,000.