“In Kyiv, two men were exposed who deceived an American volunteer serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, promising to create a laser weapon capable of shooting down drones.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office, Metropolitan Police
Details: According to the investigation, in July 2023, a 74-year-old resident of Kyiv and his 59-year-old accomplice presented themselves as managers of a private enterprise specializing in the manufacture and sale of weapons. They informed a serviceman of the Armed Forces that they were testing laser devices capable of “blinding” enemy drones and offered to manufacture such a device for $85,000.
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According to them, the latest development is apparently capable of shooting down not only drones, but even ballistic missiles. In order for their proposal to be convincing, the developers demonstrated a device that apparently burned the wing of “Shakhed” from a distance of about 8 meters.
They received more than 3.2 million hryvnias in installments from the military swindler, but the man never saw the promised newest development. The pre-trial investigation established that the men had no technical capabilities or intentions to manufacture the promised device.
The victim in the case is a US citizen of Ukrainian origin, a volunteer, the founder of a training school for military personnel in Ukraine. From the first days of the Russian invasion, he voluntarily served in the ranks of the Armed Forces.
In the course of the investigation, the soldier has already been reimbursed 20,000 US dollars, measures are being taken to return him the entire amount of money, prosecutors note.
The investigators informed both participants of the malicious scheme: a native of Kyiv and a resident of Ivano-Frankivsk about suspicion under part 5 of Art. 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – fraud committed by a group of persons, in particularly large amounts, under martial law, according to a prior conspiracy, the police added.
photo of the prosecutor’s office