The total losses caused by the criminal group are still being determined, as the group carried out criminal activities over a long period of time and defrauded citizens of various EU Member States, including Latvia, the State Police said.
Several victims of this criminal group have now been identified and have lost at least EUR 250,000 in total. The activities of the criminal group were disrupted on August 7 this year.
State Police officials found that fraudsters posed as "experts" offering to invest money on fake investment platforms.
In order to gain the trust of the public, the members of the organized criminal group maintained the content of their websites, pretending that trading in financial instruments was actually taking place. However, when Latvian citizens indicated that they wished to withdraw their invested and earned funds, the members of the organized group told them that they had to wait, as the amount of money earned would soon increase even more, and that they had to ensure sufficient funds to complete the transactions. In fact, the funds deposited by the individuals were never invested in financial instruments.
The fraudulent scheme was organized by a 27-year-old resident of Kharkiv with seven accomplices.
The State Police set up a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) with Ukrainian law enforcement authorities and, as a result of successful cooperation, succeeded in disrupting the activities of the criminal group. A total of 25 searches were carried out in Kharkiv Oblast and five persons were detained and arrested as suspects. Two other persons have aided the crime and are currently cooperating with the police by giving statements.
During the searches, technical equipment related to call center operations, laptops, mobile phones, documents, payment cards, luxury cars and other items evidencing the criminal activity of the group members were seized.
Investigations are currently being actively carried out to identify all the victims of this organized criminal group. Compensation will be paid to the victims. Each victim will be contacted personally by the investigator.
The police noted that citizens should remember to be critical of persons who present themselves over the phone as professionals who are supposedly acting legitimately and will immediately help them make money. Additional information should be obtained from other sources, preferably from a public authority, as to the veracity of what the caller is saying.
"You need to think critically, seek information and, most importantly, be able to ask the right questions about licenses, permission to work in Latvian jurisdiction, registered representative offices in Latvia, etc. Before making a transaction, one should consult the information on licensed financial service providers in Latvia on the Bank of Latvia's website," the police said.
In addition, the police urge you to note that, at the request of an unknown person, you should not install on your computer or phone software such as "AnyDesk" and "TeamViewer", which are usually used by fraudsters to remotely connect to a person's bank account and transfer money to bank accounts controlled by a criminal group.
