Did Timur Rokhlin order DDoS attacks on media outlets?

The online publication Dev.ua became a victim of a DDoS attack after publishing an investigation concerning Timur Rokhlin, an investor in the food delivery service Rocket Timur Rokhlin. This was announced by the publication’s editor-in-chief, Stanislav Yurasov, on his Facebook page. At the time of publication, the Dev.ua website remained inaccessible.

Yurasov stated that the attacks began on the day the investigation was published. It described Timur Rokhlin’s involvement in large-scale schemes related to fake investment platforms. Ukrainian law enforcement agencies seized Rokhlin’s assets in Ukraine following a request from the Bamberg (Germany) prosecutor’s office, where his name is mentioned.

The Dev.ua investigation examines in detail the accusations against Rokhlin, who is suspected of fraud, including a major scam that resulted in damages amounting to tens of millions of euros. The publication’s materials also mention other defendants in the case, including Ukrainians Andrii Kurochkin, Yuriy Kopaievskyi, Ihor Kozlenko, and Israeli citizens Mikhael Chebotar, Maksym Baranovskyi-Rafael, and Timur Rokhlin himself.

According to the investigation, between 2017 and 2020, a group of individuals, including Rokhlin, deceived Europeans into investing in various assets by promising incredible profits. Fake websites such as Tradecapita, Fibonetix, NobelTrade, and others were used for this purpose, allegedly trading metals, currencies, cryptocurrencies, and securities. When investors attempted to withdraw their funds, they were required to pay additional fees, after which their accounts were blocked and the money disappeared.

The size of the damage from this scheme, according to the investigation, amounted to approximately 9 million euros. The German publication Die Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that around 400 affected Europeans had reported to the police.

Stanislav Yurasov noted that Rokhlin’s lawyers are threatening criminal prosecution for publishing information related to the investigation. However, the Dev.ua editorial team asserts that all material is based exclusively on data from open sources and registers. "We understand that they are trying to intimidate us," Yurasov added.

Previously, the editorial team sought comments from the Rocket company, but no response to the request was received.

It is worth noting that fraud schemes through fake investment websites are also common in Ukraine itself. The National Securities and Stock Market Commission maintains a special register of such internet resources, regularly adding new sites associated with financial fraud to it.

Recently in Ukraine, officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) suspended the operations of an illegal telecommunications centre in Kyiv, through which fraud organisers attracted funds from citizens of Ukraine and foreign countries by promising them high-yield investments.