Ukrainian journalists took part in the investigation of two fraudulent schemes worth $275 million

The International organization Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the television company Sveriges Television (SVT) and more than 30 other media partners, including those from Ukraine, conducted an investigation into Scam Empire. As part of it, journalists exposed the activities of two fraudulent schemes, the damage from which amounts to about $275 million.

According to the official release, the investigation was initiated based on data provided by an anonymous source. These are expenditure tables, accounts, correspondence, as well as detailed information about the contributions of the victims totaling 1.9 TB.

During the investigation, in which, in particular, the Ukrainian edition of 'Radio Liberty' and 'Sledstvo.Info' took part, the consortium members revealed the activities of two call center networks. Participants in these schemes promoted investments in cryptocurrency and other assets, including stocks, with high guaranteed returns.

They are based in Israel, Eastern Europe, including Ukraine and Georgia. The estimated number of victims is around 35,000 from 30 countries, mainly Canada, Spain, Australia

As OCCRP journalists noted, both schemes have pyramid features. Investors are not allowed to withdraw money, call center participants mislead them, use dummy companies and fake identity documents.

One of the schemes has been identified as A.K. Group. The company has three offices in Tbilisi. Since 2022, it has received around $35 million from about 6000 people, as noted by "Radio Liberty".

The second network is a group of affiliated companies in Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Cyprus, which operates under the leadership of a team from Israel. From 2021 to 2024, its participants deceived about 26,000 people for $240 million.

As journalists from "Radio Liberty" have noted, in Ukraine, the representatives of the second scheme had at least one office - in Kyiv. It operated until February 2022, after which some employees were relocated to North Macedonia, and then to Bulgaria.

This group of companies actively used dummy legal entities. One of them is Estella Ukraine. It is registered to a 23-year-old local resident who requested not to disclose her data.

In 2021, she agreed to create a company in her name. For this, as well as for signing documents, she received 2000 hryvnias every month until the start of the RF invasion in Ukraine

Meanwhile, the company continued to operate. In 2024, it entered into an agreement with counterparts of the second network and conducted mutual settlements with them.

Journalists also learned that in 2022 Estella Ukraine rented premises from Lyudmila Kravchuk, the wife of MP Anton Yatsenko. At the request to comment on the situation, the latter indicated that she can provide details only upon request from law enforcement agencies.

According to the press, Estella Ukraine offered a job in Ukraine with a salary ranging from $1000 to $1500 and the opportunity to travel around Europe. The list of duties included signing documents on behalf of the company Besonicke SL, which is also associated with fraud, according to the provided information.

Another such fake company — EM Develop — was registered to a resident of the Dnipropetrovsk region. The company continued to operate after her death in 2023. Under the brand Opulent Allies, it paid for marketing services for counterparties that are part of the second network of call centers.

As journalists noted, scammers used the same tools to lure victims. In particular, they placed the names and photos of celebrities in advertisements, including billionaire Elon Musk.

Victims were tricked into giving money and were offered to install software for better control over the deposit. With the latter, they emptied bank accounts and wallets

Earlier, we reported that two men in Ukraine were accused of organizing illegal cryptocurrency exchanges.