A fake SBU officer swindled over 6 million hryvnias from a People’s Artist
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
In Kyiv, law enforcement officers notified a man that he was under suspicion; according to the investigation, he had, whilst posing as an employee of the Security Service of Ukraine, misappropriated funds belonging to a People’s Artist of Ukraine.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, the victim received a phone call from an unknown person who introduced himself as an SBU officer. He claimed that the woman was allegedly suspected of treason and that her savings were to be checked for “Russian origins”.
To make it seem convincing, the artist was sent forged summonses and subjected to so-called searches via video link.
During one such video call, the woman was forced to show her savings.
Afterwards, the fake law enforcement officer arranged a face-to-face meeting with her.
At the meeting, the artist handed over 128,000 US dollars to the man.
Later, she received another phone call claiming that she had allegedly not handed over all her funds for verification.
Following this, the victim transferred a further 400,000 UAH to various accounts.
The prosecutor’s office reported that it was only after the third call that the woman told a neighbour about the situation, who advised her to contact the police.
Law enforcement officers established that the money was received by a 36-year-old resident of the Sumy region.
According to the investigation, he transferred the funds to third parties’ crypto wallets via a currency exchange.
The man kept $900 for himself from the total amount.
The suspect’s actions were classified under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – complicity in fraud committed on an especially large scale.
He faces up to 12 years’ imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The court has already imposed a preventive measure on the suspect – detention in custody with the possibility of bail set at over 3.3 million hryvnias.
Law enforcement agencies are currently identifying other individuals who may be involved in the scheme.
Official sources have not disclosed the victim’s name. Meanwhile, UNN, citing its own source, reported that the victim is People’s Artist Valentina Antoniuk.
As reported by ThePublic, the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court has upheld the civil forfeiture of assets belonging to the family of Taras Polienko, Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv. Over 8.3 million hryvnias are to be recovered for the state – this includes the value of the penthouse, proceeds from its sale, and two parking spaces in the “Zarechny” residential complex in Kyiv.
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