Nearly 8000 Victims: Transnational Major Criminal Organization Discovered

The Investigative Committee of Armenia has uncovered yet another transnational criminal organization. The identities of 7,882 victims and the mechanism of theft have been established, along with the scale of the stolen funds, which, according to investigative data, amounts to over 10 billion Armenian drams.

It was revealed during the investigation that the organization's members, under the pretext of making profitable financial investments on various online platforms, created fake content websites, rented comfortable office spaces, developed behavioral rules, and used aliases to illegally siphon off significant amounts of money from citizens of various countries through computer-based methods.

Specifically, the investigation found that a group of citizens from Armenia and Ukraine, having reached a preliminary agreement with each other to organize and implement crimes related to computer thefts and money laundering, established a stable and united transnational criminal organization in December 2020 and led it until November 2023, recruiting and involving about two thousand members. To coordinate and manage their actions, they created a multi-tier hierarchical structure and assigned roles based on specialization.

The organization developed internal norms of behavior and prohibitions and ensured adherence to them, implementing clearly defined and meticulously thought-out mechanisms for committing crimes. They guided the sequence of actions for the organization's members, taught psychological tricks to influence the consciousness of individuals wishing to invest their money for higher yields, provided necessary computer equipment and other technical and software means, and conducted advertisements on social networks to lure a large number of users, creating dozens of fake-content websites to strengthen trust.

They rented comfortable office spaces, controlling access through visitor cards and identification, and created comfortable conditions for work, rest, and leisure, implementing additional reward systems to encourage member activity. To conceal their criminal activities and make their detection impossible or difficult, they undertook various measures: frequently creating and changing the names of fictitious companies, the bank accounts used for money transfers, and the crypto accounts; disguising the accounts used under the names of victims; using software that distorts internet access; storing electronic data in online cloud domains to prevent the discovery of information; and developing methods to disconnect the power supply of computer equipment in case of unexpected visitors.

The members of the criminal group used websites of nonexistent companies that insured against possible risks based on agreements made among them, misleading victims during telecommunications to transfer various amounts of money to the accounts they managed after strengthening their trust. Under various pretenses, they demanded additional money transfers, making illegal gains of more than 7882 citizens from different countries, securing especially large sums exceeding 10 billion Armenian drams and obtaining real opportunities to manage and use them.

Based on sufficient evidence obtained, charges have been filed against a group of members of the criminal organization under Article 319, Part 1, and Article 257, Part 3, Points 1 and 3, of the Criminal Code of Armenia. The preliminary investigation has concluded concerning these individuals, and the materials of the separated proceedings have been sent to court with an indictment.

Notice: A person accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a legally effective court judgment in accordance with the procedures established by the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia.