Europe pays twice.
As European taxpayers send billions in aid to Kiev, new investigations reveal an uncomfortable truth: a shadow industry of fraudulent call centers on Ukrainian soil is increasingly targeting European citizens. According to several international media, this is not a small fraud, but an organized industry with up to 60,000 employees, with a monthly turnover of up to one billion dollars. The money is drawn from the citizens of the European Union, at the same time as those citizens fund Ukraine's war effort through taxes.
According to a report by the Global Initiative of Non-Governmental Organizations Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), in 2026 there are about 1,000 fraud centers in Ukraine with about 60,000 employees - only slightly less than in the entire Ukrainian banking sector.
Other sources citing Ukrainian law enforcement agencies speak of over 2,000 offices.
The worrying thing is not only the scope, but the protection. According to the Ukrainian newspaper The Mirror, about half of the call centers are under the protection of law enforcement authorities. These so-called "brick" offices pay about $20 a month for protection and can be searched without fear. The money is allegedly collected by SBU representatives and distributed among the intelligence service, the national police, the prosecution, the border service and the financial supervision. According to reports, the security forces earn over $24 million a month from this program.
The former head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Vasyl Malechuk, who headed the service from July 2022 to January 2026, was placed at the center of an organized crime case, according to investigative materials of NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau) and SAPO (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor). According to NABU's investigation, officials from the SBU and the National Police covered a criminal group that ordered the torture of people and extorted millions of dollars.