Under the procedural guidance of the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office, the activities of a criminal organization operating in Chernivtsi and specializing in fraud against citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan have been uncovered and halted. Thanks to the effective cooperation between Ukrainian law enforcement and the cyber police of Kazakhstan, it was possible to identify the victims, block the schemes, and gather evidence.

According to the investigation materials, the organizer of the call center turned out to be a native of the Zaporizhzhia region who lived in Chernivtsi. He involved several citizens of Ukraine in illegal activities. They called foreigners, posing as employees of the National Security Committee and the National Bank of Kazakhstan. Under the pretext of combating terrorism financing and checking suspicious transactions, they convinced people to transfer funds to accounts controlled by their organizations.

At least 20 victims have been identified. The total amount of damages exceeds 5.3 million UAH. Verification is ongoing for over 300 additional victims, who have suffered damages exceeding 70 million UAH.

During the searches, computer equipment, mobile phones, bank cards, uniforms, and identification signs of law enforcement agencies of Kazakhstan, bank employee badges, and other evidence of illegal activities were seized.

The organizer of the group and some of its participants have been detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. Six individuals have been notified of suspicion for creating and participating in a criminal organization and committing fraud on a particularly large scale (parts 1, 2 of Article 255, part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Preventive measures without alternatives have already been chosen for four of them.

The issue of choosing preventive measures for other group participants is being resolved.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Chernivtsi Regional Police with operational support from the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine. The disclosure was carried out in cooperation with the Department for Combating Cybercrime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.