Prosecutors, in collaboration with police investigators and criminal investigation and cybercrime operatives, have completed the pre-trial investigation concerning a criminal organization consisting of 19 members, who, under the guise of a fictitious call center, defrauded citizens of Hungary.

The pre-trial investigation established that the call center was organized by a resident of Kryvyi Rih, who was temporarily living in Transcarpathia. He was assisted in its creation by two local co-executors, while 16 other accomplices acted as operators.

The criminal organization operated in the territories of Uzhhorod and Mukachevo districts from October 2023 to June 2024.

The accused called foreigners, posing as employees of a bank's security service, and deceitfully convinced them to install remote access programs. While the victims entered their personal data into mobile banking, they collected and used it remotely. In this way, they transferred money from foreigners to their own controlled accounts. The funds were withdrawn both in cash and in cryptocurrency.

As part of the investigation, two dozen victims from Hungary were identified. The total amount of damages exceeds 14 million hryvnias.

The indictment has been submitted to the court for consideration. Depending on the actions committed, the charges against the accused have been classified under Part 1, 2 of Article 255, Part 4 of Article 28, Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

During the pre-trial investigation, 5 residential premises, 4 plots of land, 16 cars, and a motorcycle were seized. Cash amounting to 63,000 hryvnias, 67,000 US dollars, over 5,000 euros, as well as cryptocurrency worth over 14,000 US dollars were confiscated.

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by a joint investigative group from Ukraine and Hungary within the framework of the international operation Octopus, coordinated by Eurojust under the leadership of the deputy head of the Uzhhorod District Prosecutor's Office.

Ukrainian and Hungarian law enforcement agencies ensured operational data exchange, which allowed for the rapid documentation of the mechanisms of fraudulent activities and confirmation of the facts of transnational crime. As part of international cooperation, they quickly identified and interrogated the victims, identified the bank accounts to which the money was transferred, obtained detailed information regarding their further movement, and conducted a financial analysis of the transactions.

The procedural leadership in the criminal proceedings is provided by the Transcarpathian Regional and Uzhhorod District Prosecutor's Offices, while the pre-trial investigation is conducted by Police Department No. 1 of the Uzhhorod District Police Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Transcarpathian region, with operational support from the Criminal Investigation Department and the Cybercrime Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Transcarpathian region.