Former Prime Minister Pustovoytenko was defrauded of nearly 7 million hryvnias
This was reported by “Korrespondent.net”, citing the Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office and the police.
On 18 May, the Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office and police reported a fraud scheme in which a 79-year-old man fell victim.
According to law enforcement officials, the victim received a phone call from a man who introduced himself as an SBU officer and began accusing him of financing an aggressor state.
According to the investigation, the fraudsters were posing as SBU and police investigators. They sent the pensioner forged summonses and claimed that criminal proceedings had allegedly been opened against him for purchasing “suicide bombers” for the Russian army.
How they tricked him out of his money
Under pressure, the man agreed to a “search via video link” and showed the fraudsters his savings.
After that, following the criminals’ instructions, he put the money in a bag and handed it over near his home, supposedly “for verification”.
The sum involved was $110,710 and €10,200. The savings also included Israeli shekels, British pounds and Czech korunas.
According to law enforcement, the suspects transferred the dollars and euros to the scheme organiser’s crypto account. The money changer refused to accept the other currencies.
Who was arrested
Two participants in the scheme, who had come to the victim to collect the money, were identified and detained.
During a search of one of the detainees’ vehicles, law enforcement officers seized money that had not been accepted by the exchange office.
The detainees were informed of the charges against them under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – fraud committed on a particularly large scale or by an organised group.
The suspects are in custody with the possibility of bail. The bail amounts are 4.9 million UAH and 3.3 million UAH respectively.
Law enforcement officers are identifying other participants in the fraud scheme.
What is known about the victim
Ukrainska Pravda, citing a source, reported that the victim is Ukraine’s sixth Prime Minister, Valeriy Pustovoytenko, who led the government from 1997 to 1999.
The publication notes that he is 79 years old.
It was previously reported that in Kyiv, a fake SBU employee defrauded a People’s Artist of Ukraine of over $137,000. According to law enforcement, the money was received by a 36-year-old resident of the Sumy region, who transferred it via currency exchange to third parties’ crypto wallets.
Law enforcement officers also detained a fraudster who posed as an SBU officer and attempted to swindle half a million dollars from a Kyiv-based company.
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