The SBU exposed the prisoners of the Rivne colony who extorted money from the relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

This was reported in the press service of the SBU.

As it became known, law enforcement officers eliminated a fraudulent scheme in the Rivne region, thanks to which criminals extorted money from relatives of missing Ukrainian servicemen.

The scheme was organized by three inmates of the local correctional colony.

They were serving sentences for serious crimes.

"The perpetrators found people on the Internet who were looking for their loved ones, participants in hostilities, and presented themselves to them as military personnel.

Then, for money, citizens were offered "help" in establishing the whereabouts and state of health of the missing soldiers, or even their release from captivity.

The cost of such "services" ranged from UAH 3 to almost UAH 100,000.

The amount depended on the emotional and psychological state of the victims and their financial capabilities," the SBU press service said.

Later, the criminals asked to transfer funds to the bank card of an acquaintance of one of the prisoners.

Even after they received the funds, they stopped communicating with the families of the soldiers.

"It was established that fraudsters looked for their victims in thematic communities of popular social networks, which were joined from fake accounts.

There they found information about wanted soldiers and entered into private correspondence with their relatives.

During the conversations, the perpetrators used methods of manipulative influence and exerted psychological pressure on the interlocutors," the SBU added.

Mobile phones and tablets were already found in their possession during the searches;

almost two dozen SIM cards of different mobile operators, on which fake accounts were registered and from which the perpetrators called the victims;

five bank cards on which money was received from the victims;

draft records with evidence of illegal activity.

"Currently, the issue of notifying the defendants of suspicion under Part 3 of Art.

190 (“Fraud”) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The investigation is ongoing to bring the culprits to justice," the SBU emphasized.

We will remind you that Ukrainian law enforcement officers established that Russian special services involve children in fake mines of our country.

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