Fake bankers in handcuffs this time. The police arrested dozens of suspects in the Czech Republic and Ukraine

Dozens of victims of so-called fake bankers, who were often robbed of millions of lifetime savings by fraudsters with the help of a fictitious legend about a compromised account and cunningly offered help, have seen the hope of satisfaction.

The police detained 23 Czechs, of which six were arrested in Ukraine. They are now awaiting extradition to the Czech Republic, where the police will charge them.

The police have already charged those detained in the Czech Republic and three of them have been taken into custody by the court. The Ukrainian police detained 17 Ukrainians during an operation coordinated with the Czech police, informed police spokeswoman Iva Kormošová.

Ukraine extradited to the Czech Republic five people prosecuted for being a “fake banker”

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According to the spokesperson, the call center was based in Odessa in the south of Ukraine. The callers were Czechs, their recruitment in the Czech Republic was handled by a fifty-year-old Czech woman.

“The 50-year-old woman, who at first was a fake operator herself, was supposed to be the main recruiter of new fake operators from the Czech Republic. She placed job advertisements, communicated with interested parties, then trained them and ensured their departure to Ukraine,” the spokeswoman described the group’s functioning.

The operators earned between 80 and 220 thousand crowns, it depended on their skills.

As part of the entire implementation in the Czech Republic and Ukraine, the police secured hundreds of objects. Among them, 50 laptops, 60 phones, more than a hundred SIM cards, dozens of flash drives and crypto wallets, 30 payment cards.

Roughly half a million Ukrainian hryvnias (less than 300,000 crowns), 80,000 dollars and 1,000 euros. On top of all that, drugs and weapons.

As part of the financial investigation, it was not possible to secure any funds from the accounts of the accused, only three properties in the Czech Republic

“As part of the financial investigation, it was not possible to secure any funds from the accounts of the accused, only three properties in the Czech Republic,” the spokeswoman explained.

Criminal investigators have so far proven more than 150 acts committed by the group in the period from October 2020 to October 2023 with damage of almost 30 million crowns.

“Of which over 22 million crowns is the damage done, less than 1.5 million in the attempt stage and less than four million in the preparation stage,” said Kormošová, adding that several hundred more acts can be assumed to have been committed, which is the subject of further investigation.

Novinky already reported on the case on Tuesday, based on a report by the Ukrainian authorities, which, however, reported different numbers of detainees and the amount of damage.

According to them, nine people were detained in Ukraine, six of them Czechs. From at least 16 victims in the Czech Republic, they lured more than three million crowns. The frauds were organized by a 40-year-old Ukrainian, the Ukrainian police said at the time.

The police inform about fake banker scams practically every day, while there is a slim chance of catching criminals using the anonymity of the Internet. Catching the group thus represents a big catch.

In Odessa, the police arrested six Czechs. A fake call center cheated people in the Czech Republic out of millions

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