Odesa lawyer detained over attempted $315,000 fraud

Promise of influence over the investigation

A criminal case is being investigated in Odesa against a lawyer suspected of attempting to appropriate a client's property worth $315,000. The victim is the head of a local charitable foundation. The lawyer promised to influence the course of the criminal proceedings, citing alleged connections among law enforcement officials.

Escalating demands

According to investigation data, after searches were conducted, the lawyer offered, for a fee, to ensure the legal qualification of the offence was changed to a less serious article. He claimed to have contacts in the Security Service of Ukraine and the prosecutor's office. Initially, the lawyer demanded $250,000, but later increased this amount to $300,000.

In addition to the main demand, the lawyer offered, for $15,000, to restrict access to rulings on the conduct of searches in the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations. On 1 October, he received this money and, investigators believe, disposed of it at his own discretion.

Detention during the transfer of funds

Continuing to insist on the transfer of the main sum of $300,000, the lawyer proposed converting the money into cryptocurrency through a currency exchange point. On 15 October, the client handed the funds over to the exchange point employees, who were acting on the lawyer's instructions. According to the investigation, the exchange point employees were unaware of his probable criminal intentions. Immediately after the transfer of funds, the lawyer was detained.

Charge under the Criminal Code

The suspect has been charged with a completed attempt to appropriate another person's property by deception on an especially large scale. The actions were qualified under Part 2 of Article 15 and Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.