SBU detained in Ternopil city a criminal group, specializing in money extortion from local businessmen. One of the detainees is a Russian citizen.

It was documented that a Ternopil city resident was “collecting” a non-existent debt from a businessman, using psychological pressure and threatening with physical violence. SBU documented the fact of extortion UAH 200,000 (USD 7,400) from the businessman.

The law enforcement detained two suspects on receiving USD 3,500 (in accordance with the Art. 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code).

The criminal proceedings are initiated upon the fact of extortion by a group of persons (P. 2 Art. 189 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The detainees are served notices of suspicion, the form of detention is being chosen. The investigation is ongoing in order to document other facts of money extortion from local residents. The operation was conducted jointly with the National Police investigators under the supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office of Ternopil region.