In Ukraine, 18 verdicts have been handed down in cases involving fraudulent call centers
Since the beginning of 2022, Ukrainian courts have handed down at least 18 verdicts in cases related to the activities of fraudulent call centers. These court rulings involve 27 defendants.
These cases involve charges under articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine concerning fraud, the formation of a criminal organization, and unauthorized interference with computers, systems, and networks.
Most of these court rulings have been issued recently. In 2026, five verdicts have already been handed down since the beginning of the year. This is the same number as for the entire year of 2024.
By comparison, in the first year of the full-scale invasion, the court handed down only one verdict in a case involving a fraudulent call center. Overall, the number of such rulings is gradually increasing.
At the same time, the mere fact that a prison sentence was imposed does not mean that the convicted person is actually behind bars.
Of the 18 court rulings, prison sentences were formally imposed in 14 cases. However, only two convicts actually received prison terms. One of them is to serve five years in prison, the other—eight.
In 12 other cases, the courts released the convicted individuals from serving their sentences on probation. This means that the imposed prison terms are not actually served in detention facilities, provided that the requirements set by the court are met.
Another defendant received two years of restricted liberty. This sentence involves staying at a correctional facility without complete isolation from society.
In three other cases, the courts imposed fines ranging from 51,000 to 68,000 hryvnias.
Thus, out of 18 sentences, only two involved actual imprisonment. In most cases where the court imposed a prison sentence, the punishment was replaced by probation.
The geographic distribution of these cases also varies. More than half of all sentences—10 out of 18—were handed down by courts in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Two court decisions each were handed down in the Kharkiv, Odesa, and Zakarpattia regions. One verdict was handed down by a court in Kyiv, and another by a court in the Kyiv region.
In total, 27 defendants are named in the analyzed rulings. The cases involve various types of criminal activity related to the operation of fraudulent call centers, including the misappropriation of citizens’ funds, the organization of criminal groups, and illegal interference with information systems.
The data on the verdicts is based on information from “Babusia,” a search engine for the court registry. These are court decisions identified since the beginning of 2022, so the statistics may not cover all cases related to the activities of fraudulent call centers.
As a reminder, a fraudulent call center generating millions in profits was exposed in Lutsk.
The scammers pose as delivery drivers to swindle people out of their money.
The scammers have begun extorting money from fans in the name of a well-known Ukrainian singer.
