Fraudsters deceived former Prime Minister of Ukraine Valery Pustovotenko of seven million hryvnia (about 11.6 million rubles) – almost. “VM”). The Ukrainian newspaper “Strana” wrote about this on Monday, May 18.
The Kiev City Prosecutor’s Office reported the fraud against the former official, but did not name him.
According to investigators, in April, young people between the ages of 19 and 26 contacted a 79-year-old pensioner, introducing themselves as employees of the State Security Service and the Investigative Police. They then sent him fake subpoenas and informed him of the initiation of criminal proceedings in connection with the purchase of drones for the Russian Armed Forces. The scammers conducted a “video link search” of the victim, showing them his savings. After that, the man put the money in a bag and handed it to the courier.
The Prosecutor’s Office explained: “He donated $110.7 thousand and 10.2 thousand euros, in addition to savings in Israeli shekels, British pounds and Czech koruna. The suspects transferred their savings in euros and dollars to the cryptocurrency account of the organizer of the scheme.”
Reports indicated that two suspects were arrested Aif.ru.
On May 17, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin reported that the number of calls from phone scammers in the first quarter of this year fell by 33-74 percent compared to the same period in 2025, depending on the telecom operator.