Two inmates demanded 10,000 hryvnias over a fabricated debt at a detention center in Mykolaiv

A 28-year-old and a 26-year-old man were notified of suspicion on charges of extorting money from an inmate at the Mykolaiv Pre-Trial Detention Center. According to police, in January–February 2026, they demanded 10,000 hryvnias from the victim over a fictitious debt and threatened him with physical violence. Fearing for his safety, the man handed over some of the money.

At the time of the events described, both suspects were in custody on suspicion of other criminal offenses. Investigators established that they exerted psychological pressure on another inmate and forced him to pay a nonexistent debt. Police confirmed that they had received money from him and gathered evidence of extortion. The report does not specify the amount actually handed over.

The following agencies were involved in exposing and documenting these actions:

• investigators from the Investigation Department of the Regional Police Headquarters, who are investigating the case;
• officers from the Strategic Investigations Department in Mykolaiv Region of the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police of Ukraine, who provided operational support;
• officers from the regional Security Service of Ukraine, who also provided operational support;
• the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, which is conducting procedural supervision;
• officers from the operational unit of the Mykolaiv Pre-Trial Detention Center, who assisted with documenting and exposing the scheme.

Both men were notified of suspicion under Part 4 of Article 189 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The charge concerns extortion committed by a group of persons acting in concert during martial law.

As part of the investigation, police conducted searches:

• at the former place of detention of the 28-year-old suspect;
• at the state institution where his 26-year-old accomplice is currently serving his sentence;
• at the homes of both men.

During the investigative actions, the following items were seized:

• mobile phones, bank cards, and SIM cards;
• at the older suspect’s home: a balaclava, a pistol with a magazine and silencer, ammunition, and a hunting knife.

The 28-year-old man was recently released from custody on bail. After the weapons were discovered, investigators notified him of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in connection with their possession. The court has now ordered this suspect to be held in custody without the possibility of bail.

The suspects face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property for extortion. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing: law enforcement officers are establishing all the circumstances and checking whether the suspects may have been involved in other offenses.

Source: Mykolaiv Region Police.

Previously, we reported:

• Pay up or get beaten: an extortion scheme targeting inmates was operating at the Mykolaiv Pre-Trial Detention Center
• Are the “overseers” back? A Mykolaiv resident was extorted for $2,000, with threats of violence against his imprisoned son
• Criminal traditions in action: money extorted from inmates at the Mykolaiv Pre-Trial Detention Center
• They demanded $2,000 over a fictitious debt and injured a man in Mykolaiv Region
• A woman used “convicts” to collect a fictitious debt from a jeweler in Mykolaiv