MOSCOW. Sept 25 (Interfax) - Five members of a group which organized numerous fraudulent calls on behalf of law enforcement officers to the benefit of Ukraine have been detained in the Russian internal republic of Dagestan, the Federal Security Service (FSB)'s public relations center said on Wednesday.
"The Russian Federal Security Service working together with the Russian Interior Ministry has detained five members of an organized group that set up and carried out a fraudulent scheme in the Republic of Dagestan to steal money from Russian citizens in the interests of Ukrainian call centers," the FSB said.
The group members have been arrested.
According to investigators, the arrestees used counterfeit IDs to conclude contracts with domestic telecom operators for providing IP telephony services, such as use of multi-channel fixed-line telephone numbers.
"Then, they provided Ukrainian citizens with access to the multi-channel communication system through special equipment. The numbers were used for fraudulent calls to Russian citizens allegedly on behalf of Russian law enforcement agencies, security services and credit and financial institutions," the FSB said.
Data storage media, communication devices and office stationary used for criminal purposes were seized in searches of the arrestees' homes and workplaces.
"The damage done by the illegal activity was tentatively estimated at over 100 million rubles, while the final sum may be much larger, considering the incoming additional information," the FSB said.
Law enforcement agencies are also investigating the possible "use of funds obtained by criminal methods to finance the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the special military operation," it said.
"More than 190 criminal cases have been opened in various parts of the country on counts of fraud using the defendants' communication devices," the FSB said.
In turn, Russian Interior Ministry spokesperson Irina Volk told reporters that a criminal case had been opened against the arrestees on fraud counts, using the materials provided by the FSB branch in Dagestan to the local police.