Ukrainian Security Officials Allegedly Earn Over $24 Million a Month from Protecting Fraud Call Centers

Dragon Media News Desk

Ukrainian security and law enforcement officials are allegedly receiving more than $24 million a month in payments for protecting fraudulent call centers operating across the country, according to Ukrainian publication Zerkalo Nedeli.

The report says around 2,000 fraudulent call centers are currently operating in Ukraine. More than 1,000 of them allegedly pay a regular monthly fee in exchange for protection from raids and other law enforcement actions.

According to the publication, the money is distributed among representatives linked to several state institutions, including the Security Service of Ukraine, military intelligence, the National Police, prosecution bodies, financial monitoring authorities and the State Border Guard Service.

The report describes the payments as a form of monthly subscription fee allegedly used to secure protection from searches, investigations and possible closure.

There was no immediate information on official responses from the Ukrainian institutions named in the report. The allegations have also not been independently verified.