A businessman was kidnapped in Mykolaiv and $360,000 was demanded: the number of suspects has risen to four
Taken away, beaten and had his hands broken: new suspects have emerged in the case of an entrepreneur's abduction
In Odesa a court remanded two more suspects in the case of the abduction of an Odesa businessman and the extortion of US$360,000. This was reported on 15 May 2026 by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
At the request of prosecutors from the Chornomorsk District Prosecutor’s Office, the court imposed a preventive measure in the form of detention without the right to post bail on two more men suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of the businessman and the extortion of a large sum of money. They are a 42-year-old and a 37-year-old residents of Mykolaiv. On 5 May they were notified of suspicion of kidnapping and extortion, committed by a group of persons in prior conspiracy with the use of violence.
According to the prosecutor’s office, one of the suspects had previously been convicted of serious bodily injury, the other of kidnapping. At present, four people already have the status of suspects in this criminal proceeding.
According to the investigation, in April 2026 a group of persons kidnapped an Odesa businessman who was in Mykolaiv. The attackers, according to law enforcement, presented themselves as “SBU officers”. The victim was held for several days and was extorted for US$360,000, allegedly for a non‑existent debt. After handing over part of the money in the amount of US$152,000, the businessman was released. As a result of the attackers’ actions, he sustained serious bodily injuries, including fractures of both arms.
Recall, Korabelov.Info wrote about this case as early as 28 April 2026.
At that time it was reported that the businessman from Odesa, who trades grain and temporarily lives in Mykolaiv, was seized in a parking lot in the center of Mykolaiv. The attackers, disguised as SBU officers, forcibly dragged him into a minibus, put handcuffs on him and a sack over his head. According to preliminary data, the first night the man was kept in an undisclosed location in Mykolaiv, after which he was transported to a private house in the Odesa district. There, as previously reported, the unlawful detention and violence continued.
The victim’s phone was taken, he was beaten, subjected to electric shocks, his head was clamped with metal vises and he was strangled with a rope until he lost consciousness. Thus, according to the investigation, the attackers sought to obtain payment of the fictitious debt of US$360,000. After the completion of the examinations, law enforcement officers must decide on an additional legal qualification under Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – torture.
Previously, we wrote:
- A woman, with the help of “inmates”, extorted a fictitious debt from a jeweler in Mykolaiv
- “Smotryashchi” returning? A Mykolaiv man was extorted for US$2,000 with threats of violence against his imprisoned son
- A Mykolaiv man was subjected to months of threats: they demanded US$5,000 and seized his car
- Military personnel carried out violent acts to extort money and property
- Criminal “series” Ukrainian-style: kidnapping, torture and an underground workshop
