SBI exposes high-ranking official of Dnipro law enforcement agency on $200K extortion (VIDEO)

SBI employees served a notice of suspicion to the deputy head of a law enforcement agency in Dnipro city, who, together with his brother, terrorised three local residents and extorted money from them.

According to the intelligence, the three victims had been renovating a house registered to the law enforcement officer's mother-in-law. At the end of January 2023, a fire started in the house due to a short circuit. The high-ranking police officer blamed the emergency on the workers. Without listening to arguments, he believed that it was their unprofessional actions during the repair that led to the incident. The police officer then began to threaten the workers to pay him USD 200,000. This was the amount of money the police officer estimated the fire damage to be.

He also involved his brother in extorting money from the workers. The two of them began to demand that the victims pay the fictitious debt as soon as possible.

For this purpose, they suggested that workers sell their cars and other property, work on the restoration of the house for free, and one of the mobilised workers was commanded to transfer his salary from the Armed Forces of Ukraine every month.

People were threatened with criminal liability, various prison sentences were mentioned, and then death threats were made, promising to bury the bodies so that no one would ever find them.

In order to legitimise the extortion of the "debt", the law enforcement officer demanded that the men sign fictitious loan agreements.

Due to the timely response to the crime, SBI agents were able to document all the illegal actions of the blackmailers and protected the victims from possible reprisals.

The law enforcement officer and his brother are suspected of extortion of property or committing any property-related acts with the threat of violence against the victim, committed by a group of persons, an official using his/her official position, with the threat of murder or causing grievous bodily harm to the victim, committed under martial law (Part 4 Art. 189 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 12 years with confiscation of property.

The case is under the supervision of the Dnipro Region Prosecutor's Office.