The SBU exposed a fraudster who posed as an officer of the Security Service and swindled money from the families of Ukrainian prisoners

The Security Service eliminated another fraudulent scheme to extort money from relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war and missing persons.

A local resident who posed as a member of the SBU "search group" was detained in Kyiv.

For 8-10 thousand US dollars, the swindler promised to "help" people looking for their loved ones. The amount depended on the emotional state of the "clients" and their ability to pay.

In order to be convincing, the person involved reported that he seems to have acquaintances in the authorities of the Russian Federation who decide on the issue of the return home of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

According to the investigation, the fraudster demanded from the victims to transfer money to his own bank cards, which were subsequently seized during the search.

After receiving the funds, he stopped communicating with his victims and did not contact them again.

Also, in the course of documenting criminal activity, it became known that he was posting false messages on social networks about collecting money for cars for Ukrainian defenders.

On the basis of the collected evidence, the investigators of the Security Service informed him of suspicion under Part 4 of Art. 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (fraud committed on a large scale).

The suspect is currently in custody. He faces up to 8 years in prison.

Comprehensive measures were carried out under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

We draw your attention to the fact that the issue of the release of prisoners of war is exclusively within the competence of state authorities.