Ukraine: Call centers suspected of defrauding 135 Germans

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According to cyber police, the network targeted people in several European Union countries. Its operators used the telephone and messaging to gain their trust, then presented them with sites that posed as brokerage platforms. The investments offered included cryptocurrencies as well as shares or other financial instruments.

The fake advisors then helped certain victims open an account on an exchange platform and purchase cryptos. They then encouraged them to transfer these assets to accounts controlled by the alleged network. In some cases, the suspects also allegedly obtained access to the online banking services of their interlocutors.

Investigators indicate that the funds then circulated between bank accounts, exchange platforms and intermediary wallets, before being converted and distributed among the suspected members of the network. The 4.3 million euros correspond to the damage established for the German victims already identified. Police are still investigating whether other people suffered losses.

Ukrainian and German authorities formed a joint investigation team. In August, Ukrainian police carried out 39 searches in kyiv and its region, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhia and Ivano-Frankivsk. Investigators searched homes, offices and vehicles. Analysis of the information collected led to 17 new searches in September.

During this second phase, police seized nearly 600,000 hryvnias, more than 90,000 US dollars, as well as hardware cryptocurrency wallets, phones, SIM cards, computers and documents. The press release does not quantify the value of digital assets possibly held on the seized wallets.

Ukrainian justice has placed the alleged organizer and three other suspects in pre-trial detention. A fifth, presented as an alleged co-organizer, was placed under house arrest. The suspicions relate to acts of fraud as well as the creation, management or participation in a criminal organization. According to the cyber police, these offenses are punishable by 12 years of imprisonment and confiscation of property.

The investigation continues to establish the role of each suspect and identify possible additional victims. The report made public concerns, at this stage, the German victims identified by investigators. The scourge of online scams cannot seem to be stopped...

With a background in literature and languages, I like to combine rigorous analysis with a taste for ideas to decipher the major economic and (geo)political issues linked to cryptocurrencies. Since 2021, I have been writing for Journal du Coin where I focus on subjects such as , MNBC, the tokenization of RWA and more broadly the strategic mutations of Web3. A passionate reader, curious about the world and the power relationships that structure it, I strive to make these themes accessible to all, with particular attention to projects designed for the general public.

Machine-translated from French