A financial pyramid scheme worth over UAH 20 million was uncovered in Kyiv

In Kyiv, law enforcement uncovered a financial pyramid through which the organizers collected more than 20 million hryvnias in “investments”; the scheme operated since October 2022.

The course of the investigation was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General: according to investigators, a group of individuals promoted a so‑called “international investment platform,” promising quick and high returns from fictitious business projects.

Potential investors were sought on social networks, and Instagram bloggers were also recruited to advertise “successful earnings” and allegedly demonstrate rapid income growth.

The entry fee to participate was 50 USDT — approximately 2 197 hryvnias. Special websites with personal accounts were created for this, where users were shown a “balance” and “accrued profit.”

In reality, all those indicators were virtual, and victims’ funds were immediately transferred to accounts controlled by the fraudsters after deposit.

One of the scheme’s organizers — a 32-year-old Ukrainian citizen who is located in an EU country — has been charged in absentia under Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The sanction provides for imprisonment for a term of from 5 to 12 years with confiscation of property. Measures to identify other participants in the illegal activity are ongoing.

Earlier we wrote:

• The head of a charity in Khmelnytskyi region is suspected of embezzling over one million hryvnias from donations to the Ukrainian Armed Forces
• Scammers cheated residents of Mykolaiv region out of more than 600 thousand hryvnias
• “They’ll jail you for medicine from the Russian Federation”: scammers frightened a Mykolaiv pensioner and extorted her savings