In Kyiv, scammers were issuing crypto loans at unreasonably high interest rates
In Kyiv, seven members of an organized group have been notified of their status as suspects; according to the investigation, they issued online loans in cryptocurrency and used threats to force customers to pay inflated interest rates and penalties.
This was reported by the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the investigation, the loans were issued through the “BitCapital” web service in the Tether (USDT) stablecoin. Borrowers were subject to extremely high terms:
- 7% one-time fee of the loan amount
- 0.6% daily penalty
- additional penalties and charges outside the contract
In cases of late payment or refusal to pay, law enforcement officials report that clients were subjected to threats and psychological pressure.
The investigation identified 41 victims, and the total amount of damages is approximately 5.3 million UAH.
The organizer of the scheme and six individuals who acted as “collectors” and engaged in extortion have been charged
The prosecutor’s office notes that the activities of the BitCapital service were deemed illegal by the National Bank of Ukraine in February 2025 following numerous user complaints.
Additionally, members of the organized group will face trial for systematically defrauding citizens by creating fake bank accounts on messaging apps. Between June and July 2025, the perpetrators defrauded five people of a total of over 1.5 million UAH by posing as bank security personnel.
Cyber Operation “Scammer”: Ukraine and Latvia Uncover a €300,000 Fraud Scheme.
Additionally, a court ordered the seizure of over 48 million hryvnias from an official at the environmental inspection agency.
