Scammers used fake trading sites and Telegram outreach to trick victims into installing wallet-draining malware. Police say seized evidence points to organized money laundering and further arrests.
Police uncovered an organized group that, with the help of malicious software, seized cryptocurrency worth one million hryvnias. This was reported by the National Police’s Main Investigative Department.
According to law enforcement, group members identified potential victims in thematic Telegram communities and offered “support” in cryptocurrency trading. Later they sent links to specially created web resources that imitates legitimate trading platforms, but contained malicious software, the so-called crypto-drainers.
The group members, through deception and illegal operations using electronic computing devices, seized citizens’ cryptocurrency in particularly large amounts
– police
After connecting their electronic wallet, people effectively granted the suspects access to their assets, allowing automatic debiting without further confirmation
– police
In only one documented case the suspects seized over 95 thousand USDT, equivalent to nearly 4 million hryvnias; in another – more than a thousand USDT.
The obtained virtual assets, according to law enforcement, were laundered by the criminals: they conducted financial operations, transferred between crypto wallets, converted into cash, and masked their origin.
The police conducted 20 simultaneous searches at the suspects’ places of residence and in an office. They seized computer equipment, mobile phones, funds, draft and printed records that confirm illicit activity. Police informed four members of the organized group, including a co-organizer, of suspicion of seizing someone else’s property by deception in especially large amounts (Part 5, Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and legalization of proceeds from crime (Part 3, Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The penalties for these articles provide up to twelve years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. The issue of selecting preventive measures for the suspects in the form of detention is being decided.
According to law enforcement, the investigation is ongoing.
