In Zaporizhzhia, the activities of an organized group were exposed, which, under the guise of investments in the activities of a jewelry company, took possession of citizens' funds worth more than UAH 9.5 million . This was reported by the Office of the General Prosecutor of Ukraine.
The suspects were active from October 2014 to January 2019. The organizer of the scam was a resident of Zaporozhye, who created and led a criminal group to which he involved four of his acquaintances.
Criminals encouraged local residents to invest in the "promising activities" of a well-known jewelry corporation, promising high interest rates. At first, depositors actually received payouts that created the illusion of investment reliability. However, later the payments stopped, and the funds were appropriated by the participants of the scheme.
In total, fraudsters received more than UAH 9.5 million , leaving people without savings.
Five members of the group were notified of suspicion of fraud under part 4 Art. 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine . A pre-trial investigation is currently underway.
This scam became another example of a large-scale fraud that affects citizens' confidence in investment activities. In such cases, criminals use complex schemes to embezzle funds, creating the appearance of legitimate activity.