Ukrainian Police Bust Crypto Scam Network Draining $1M Monthly Via Fake Investment Platform

Ukrainian police, together with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), have taken down a crypto scam network that used a fake investment platform to steal digital assets. The trick was simple. Users were pulled onto a website dressed up like a real investment service. When victims tried to withdraw money, the site told them to connect their main crypto wallet and approve a small test transaction. But hidden code on the site triggered a “wallet drainer,” which automatically moved all available assets to wallets controlled by the operators. After that, victims were locked out of the platform.

Police have confirmed 62 victims tied to the operation. More than 46 Ukrainian citizens are believed to have taken part in the scam, which allegedly stole as much as $1 million per month. The profits shown on the platform were completely fake; operators manually created transactions and changed user account balances to make it look like people were earning money. And it did not stop at crypto. During registration and verification, the scheme also collected victims’ passport data, phone numbers, email addresses, login credentials, and photos.

Authorities said the main organizer was a 25-year-old IT expert who recruited more than 46 Ukrainian citizens to operate multiple offices in and around Kyiv. Team members handled the creation and upkeep of fake websites, reached out to potential victims, and provided “security.” Police tracked the group’s server equipment to the Netherlands and got a database stored there with victim lists, crypto wallet addresses, suspected stolen amounts, internal communications, and platform operations data.

After the investigation, Ukrainian police and the SBU conducted 34 searches across Kyiv and nearby areas, seizing more than 100 computers, over 100 mobile phones, 79 SIM cards, documents, cash, and 15 vehicles. Victims came from several countries, including Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Israel.