The SSU, jointly with the Prosecutor’s Office, dismantled a group that was terrorizing residents of Dnipropetrovsk region.

As a result of the operation, the leader of the group - a member of one of the local councils – has been detained in Dnipro.

The criminals extorted money from businessmen. In case of refusal to pay ‘tribute’, they abducted the victims, tortured and threatened to kill them.

The investigation documented how the racketeers extorted USD 2.5 mln from a businessman who joined the Armed Forces at the beginning of the full-scale war and is now defending Ukraine on the front line.

As the man was driving to his unit’s base, the perpetrators in three cars ‘cut off’ his vehicle and kidnapped him.

The thugs then took the victim to a forest outside the city, where they beat him for an hour and threatened with murder.

The gangsters then imprisoned the businessman in a prepared closed room and, after torture, released him to find and hand over the money, as well as to re-register some of his corporate rights in the company.

The SSU apprehended the group’s leader when he again threatened to kill the defender.

Firearms and cash, likely obtained through criminal means, were seized during the searches.

Based on the evidence, the detained individual was notified of suspicion under two Articles of the CCU:

• 189.4 (extortion, committed by an organized group, under martial law and with threat of violence);
• 146.2 (unlawful deprivation of liberty or abduction).

The investigation is ongoing to bring to justice all members of the gang. The suspects face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The operation was carried out under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol.