An international fraudulent crypto network was exposed in Odesa, which embezzled more than 24 million hryvnias

The cyber police of the Odesa region exposed a group of criminals who, during 2024-2025, embezzled more than 24 million hryvnias through fictitious investment platforms. Criminals created websites of non-existent companies that allegedly engaged in arbitrage of advertising traffic and cryptocurrencies. This is reports the press service of the cyber police.

Fraudsters offered potential investors favorable investment terms with promises of regular dividends. According to preliminary data, the number of victims may exceed 1,500 people from various countries, including Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

Victims registered a personal account, chose an investment plan and topped up the account, while all funds immediately went to crypto wallets controlled by fraudsters. After that, the perpetrators stopped any contact with the victims. For the conspiracy, they periodically changed company names and managed crypto wallets through a private key not associated with any known service or exchange.

The organizer of the scheme turned out to be a 28-year-old resident of Odessa. He brought in an IT specialist to create and administer the sites, as well as a group of call center operators to communicate with potential victims. All participants worked both remotely and from specially equipped offices in Odesa.

So far, the police have documented the illegal activities of members of the group against seven investors from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and other countries. The damages caused to the victims amount to 92 thousand dollars.

Procedurally, the investigators detained eight members of the group, one more was declared wanted. In the presence of sufficient evidence, all those involved were notified of the suspicion of taking possession of someone else’s property by deception, that is, fraud committed by a group of persons with the help of a prior conspiracy, using electronic computing equipment, under martial law and on a particularly large scale.

According to the sanction of Part 5 of Art. 190 (fraud) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, perpetrators face up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. The investigation is ongoing, and the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office is conducting the procedural management of the case.