The Kyiv Police arrested a gang of foreigners led by a Russian-born Israeli for extortion of tourists last week, Walla reported. The sting became familiar to the restaurants and bars and has resulted in many warnings in tour groups and websites.
According to Walla, The gang carried out scams on approximately 150 tourists since the start of 2020. Cooperating waiters would serve foreigners a bill worth ten times the real value of the food that they ordered, independently or at the encouragement of the participating hostess, thus leaving the tourists with a charge of thousands of dollars.
If the tourists refused to pay, they were led by the gang members to the manager's office, and there, they were forced to pay through violence or psychological pressure. If they still refused, the gang would rob them of their money, cellphones and jewelry.
According to the district attorney's office, the Israeli citizen was already wanted by Interpol for bank scams. They also said that among the arrested gang members, there were also citizens of Ukraine and Azerbaijan.
According to the Attorney General in Kyiv, the gang expected the tourists not to go to the police and leave Ukraine, and the crimes would not be dealt with by law enforcement. Currently, the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office is working to get the tourists a special status that will allow them to testify without returning to Ukraine.
The local police in Kyiv worked with the national police, the country's immigration authorities and the district attorney's office to counter the gang, according to Walla.
In a raid on three known recreational places in the center of Kyiv, ten men between the ages of 19 and 40 were caught in the act, including a local patrol officer, who pretended to be a taxi driver and drove the tourists to the locations.
If they are found guilty, the gang members can expect seven to ten years imprisonment. The police suspect that Ukrainian residents were also involved and have not ruled out arresting the hostesses in the future.