By KYIV. Nov 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Сyberpolice Department, together with investigators from the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine and foreign colleagues, stopped the activities of an international criminal group and sized the assets of the criminals in more than 20 countries, according to the press service of the National Police.
“Starting in 2019, the scammers created more than 100 web resources on which they offered investors to receive excess profits from investing in cryptocurrency and trading securities on virtual financial markets,” the National Police said on the official website on Tuesday.
To communicate with potential investors, the scammers created call centers with several hundred of employees in Ukraine and Georgia. The defendants hired operators who spoke foreign languages and taught them to use social engineering methods when communicating with “clients.” The scammers convinced citizens to make significant investments.
“Victims were also convinced to install special software to carry out financial transactions. Thus, the scammers gained remote access to the victims’ computers and transferred their savings to controlled accounts. The victims were mainly Swiss and German investors,” the police said.
The Cyberpolice Department and investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police, under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General’s Office, jointly with colleagues from Eurojust and Europol, with the participation of law enforcement officers from Georgia, Germany and Switzerland, conducted a multi-level international operation to neutralize the international criminal group.
As part of the joint investigation with law enforcement agencies of Switzerland, mass searches were carried out on the territory of Ukraine and Georgia. Computer equipment, mobile phones, cash and documents were seized. At the same time, the assets of the organizers of the criminal group in more than 20 countries were seized in the EU countries.
The Main Investigation Department of the National Police is investigating criminal proceedings under Part 4 of Article 190 (fraud) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The sanction of the article provides for up to eight years in prison. Swiss law enforcement officers are also investigating criminal proceedings under Article 147 (fraud) and Article 305 (money laundering) of the Swiss Criminal Code.
Investigative actions are ongoing to identify all the victims and the final amount of damage caused, as well as other accomplices of the defendants.
