The editor of the ORD website, Rechinsky, is suspected of extorting money in exchange for removing false information
Police caught the owner of a media outlet extorting money in exchange for removing posts and notified him of the charges against him in Berlin.
According to UA.NEWS sources in the Office of the President, the person in question is Stanislav Rechynskyi, editor of the ORD website and adviser to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov from 2014 to 2019.
For several years,
the website and its associated Telegram channel systematically disseminated negative and defamatory material about the head of one of the companies and his business. These platforms had an audience of many thousands and were primarily used to publish compromising content; however, they were not registered as online media outlets and were not included in the Register of Media Entities.
According to the investigation, the suspect, together with others, organized a scheme in which false and defamatory material about individuals and legal entities was disseminated through these online platforms and the Telegram channel. The victims were then extorted for money in exchange for the removal of the content and a halt to its further dissemination.
Posts about the victim and the company he headed had been appearing on these platforms since at least 2018. Following yet another series of posts, the owner of the platforms made a specific demand to the victim—to transfer cryptocurrency equivalent to 3,500 U.S. dollars in exchange for the removal of the already published material and to prevent its further dissemination. After the funds were transferred, the relevant posts were removed from the website and Telegram channel.
During the investigation, law enforcement officials determined that the suspect was in the Federal Republic of Germany and initiated investigative actions within the framework of international legal assistance.
On August 26, German police, acting on a request from Ukrainian authorities, conducted a search of the suspect’s residence in Berlin. The investigative actions were carried out with the participation of officers from the Main Investigation Department and the Cyberpolice Department of the National Police of Ukraine.
The owner of the website has been notified of his status as a suspect under Part 4 of Article 189 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—extortion. The penalty under this article provides for up to twelve years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
Law enforcement officials are currently preparing documents to place the suspect on an international wanted list and to extradite him to Ukraine.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General, National Police of Ukraine.
