Seven people in Kyiv have been suspected of fraud. The police and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have exposed a group that was making fictitious documents for money to legalize foreigners in the European Union. In total, people paid almost UAH 18 million for the forgeries.
This was reported on March 11 by the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Police, the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office, and the Prosecutor General's Office.
This network of call centers was contacted by citizens of Ukraine, Russia, and people from the Middle East and European countries who already live in the EU and are now trying to legalize their stay there. The “clients” were offered various documents: fake passports, residence permits, household cards, driver's licenses, and insurance policies.
The police and the Security Service of Ukraine exposed a group that made fictitious documents for money to legalize foreigners in the European Union, Kyiv, March 2026. Prosecutor General's Office/Telegram
For example, according to the investigation, a Latvian driver's license cost 1,500 euros.
Suspicion of fraud Under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – fraud committed on an especially large scale or by an organized group against 7 residents of Kyiv who were recruiting for training in call centers. 12 searches were conducted at the work and home of the defendants. During the searches, almost 70 thousand dollars, computer equipment and mobile phones with evidence of illegal activity, drafts and materials showing that fake EU documents were being produced were seized.
The police and the Security Service of Ukraine exposed a group that made fictitious documents for money to legalize foreigners in the European Union, Kyiv, March 2026. Prosecutor General's Office/Telegram
The police and the Security Service of Ukraine exposed a group that made fictitious documents for money to legalize foreigners in the European Union, Kyiv, March 2026. Prosecutor General's Office/Telegram
According to law enforcement, more than 100 people were involved in the scheme. The network included IT specialists and analysts who sought clients through contextual and targeted advertising; a call center in Kyiv to support customers; the production of high-quality fake documents️ and a logistics chain to deliver documents from Ukraine to the EU.
The police and the Security Service of Ukraine exposed a group that made fictitious documents for money to legalize foreigners in the European Union, Kyiv, March 2026. SBU/Telegram
According to the SBU, since May 2025, call centers have sold counterfeit goods worth at least UAH 17.8 million. The Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office gives the equivalent in euros – it says that the suspects earned at least €400,000.
Clients transferred money to a bank account opened in one of the European countries, as well as to a crypto wallet.
The suspects face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property if convicted in court.
On March 10, the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office sent charges to the court against a 62-year-old man. According to the case materials, the suspect promised to provide him with employment in the capital's district prosecutor's office and the Prosecutor General's Office for money.
Earlier, the capital's police completed a pre-trial investigation into the group. It concerns a lawyer and his two accomplices. They are suspected of defrauding bank clients of over 2 million hryvnias.