State Police help expose money-laundering network in Ukraine

Between August 3 and 5, searches took place in Kyiv and Dnipro carried out by Latvia's State Police Cybercrime Combating Department together with Ukrainian and Lithuanian law enforcement, the Riga Judicial District Prosecutor's Office, and Eurojust. The operation formed the second phase of the "VENI, VIDI, VICI" criminal case.

The first phase took place in February, when several fraudulent call centers in Dnipro were shut down and 11 people detained. The second phase targeted those responsible for laundering the proceeds.

Tracing the funds

By analyzing blockchain transactions, investigators found that victims' crypto assets were split into smaller amounts and repeatedly moved between different digital wallets before being transferred to third-party bank accounts, converted to cash, and split among group members.

Searches of suspects' homes and vehicles yielded computer equipment, server hardware, data storage devices, and crypto wallets. Two people who organized the laundering process were detained.

The fraud scheme and victims

Suspects had convinced victims to invest in cryptocurrency by showing fake profits on platforms they controlled themselves. They then defrauded the same victims a second time by posing as legal advisers offering to help recover the lost money. Thirteen Latvian and Lithuanian nationals were defrauded, with total losses exceeding €200,000; the full list of victims is still being established.

In the first phase of the investigation, €400,000 was found on suspects and €17,000 in crypto assets was frozen, funds earmarked to compensate victims.

Solvita Sļadze, deputy head of a division within the Cybercrime Combating Department, said young people with strong knowledge of blockchain technology are increasingly involved in such crimes — the latest suspects detained are also under 25. Police noted the operations in Ukraine were carried out under wartime conditions, including air raid alerts, but were completed successfully.

Authorities urged residents to remain cautious of suspicious calls and investment offers, and to contact police and their bank immediately if fraud is suspected.