A man was detained in Kyiv who posed as a NABU employee and extorted almost $500 000 for “solving the issue”

A 29-year-old man was detained in Kyiv who posed as an NABU employee and extorted almost $500 000 for "solving" problems with tax audits, courts, and criminal proceedings.

This was reported by the press services of NABU and the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office (PGO).

According to the investigation, the man learned from his father about tax audits of the victim and his wife, who are entrepreneurs. He then introduced himself as an employee of NABU.

After that, according to investigators, he convinced the man that he had connections with officials of the State Tax Service, NABU, BES and judicial authorities and could "resolve the issue"

Then, from September 2025 to March 2026, the defendant received $280 000 from the businessman. After that, he told him that another $200 000 was needed to resolve the issue. He was detained while transferring this amount on September 25.

After the arrest, law enforcement officers conducted searches in Kyiv and Kharkiv, where the suspect lived, and seized money, phones, and other evidence of the crime from his car.

The man was suspected of fraud and was given a preventive measure in the form of arrest with the possibility of bail of UAH 998 000.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.