The Prosecutor's Office of the Dnipropetrovsk region reported that in the city of Dnipropetrovsk, a criminal authority along with two active city council deputies demanded a non-existent debt of $60,000 from a former deputy mayor.
The city is not named, but from our own sources, we learned that it concerns Volnogorsk, where a high-profile arrest involving special forces took place recently.
The extortionists threatened the former official and his family members with physical harm and property destruction. To intimidate the ex-official, they threw flashbang grenades into his yard and set fire to his house and vehicles.
Under intense psychological pressure and fearing for his life and health, the victim agreed to pay the suspects a portion of the "debt" amounting to $22,000.
After the agreed sum was handed over, the extortionists were apprehended under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. All three were informed of their suspicion regarding the extortion committed under conditions of martial law by a group of individuals acting in collusion (Part 4, Article 189 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and a preventive measure of detention was chosen.
The names of the individuals involved in the case are not disclosed, but it is worth noting that last summer, there were personnel changes in the Volnogorsk City Council. In particular, in August, Dmitry Voloshchuk, who held the position of deputy mayor and head of the Department of Architecture, Capital Construction, and Housing and Communal Services, submitted a resignation letter. Additionally, Voloshchuk was removed from the executive committee of the Volnogorsk City Council.