A fake SBU employee defrauded a People's Artist out of more than $128,000
In Kyiv, a man who posed as an employee of the Security Service of Ukraine and defrauded a People’s Artist of Ukraine has been served with a notice of suspicion.
According to the investigation, the suspect took possession of her funds under the pretext of “cooperating with the special services.” The total amount of damages exceeds $128,000 and approximately 400,000 hryvnias.
This was reported by the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation is ongoing under the procedural supervision of the Dnipro District Prosecutor’s Office in Kyiv.
It has been established that a 71-year-old Kyiv resident received a call on one of her messaging apps from a man who identified himself as an SBU employee. He informed her that she was suspected of treason and had to hand over all her savings for verification. The funds would be checked to determine whether they were of Russian origin. The scammers promised to return the money to the woman after it was verified. To make their story sound convincing, they sent her fake summonses via the messaging app.
Using video chat, they even conducted a “search” of the woman’s home, forcing her to show her savings. She subsequently handed over $128,000 to the fake law enforcement officer for the so-called verification.
After that, she received another call informing her that she had not handed over all the money for the verification. So, while still on the call, she transferred another 400,000 UAH to the scammers.
Only after the third call did the pensioner tell her neighbor everything, and the neighbor advised her to contact law enforcement.
It was established that she had given the money to a 36-year-old resident of the Sumy region, who, through a currency exchange, transferred it to a crypto account belonging to individuals unknown to him. The man kept $900 of the total amount for himself.
An SBU investigator in Poltava regionwas taken into custody on suspicion of accepting a bribe.
In Poltava region, a court arrested the head of the SBU’s investigative department in a case involving a $110,000 bribe.
Prior to this, the High Anti-Corruption Court sentenced an employee of the Krasyliv Aggregate Plant to nine years in prison for receiving an unlawful benefit.
The High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on the former head of one of the parliamentary factions of the Lutsk City Council—a bail of 4 million hryvnias. He is suspected of receiving an unlawful benefit related to the construction of an apartment building in Lutsk.
