Hope for money: “clairvoyants” deceived wives of missing soldiers

Under the procedural supervision of the Darnytskyi District Prosecutor’s Office of Kyiv, three “hereditary psychics” have been notified of their status as suspects for defrauding the wives of deceased or missing-in-action servicemen, as well as other individuals who found themselves in difficult situations and needed assistance.

It was established that the suspects advertised their “extraordinary” abilities through websites. The “psychics” offered clients answers to all their questions, helped “lift curses,” and resolve romantic issues.

They gave families of deceased or missing-in-action soldiers hope of seeing their loved ones again and told stories that the men would surely return. Distraught clients succumbed to psychological manipulation and repeatedly asked for “divinations” to find out if their husbands were alive and when they would see them.

For example, the wife of a deceased soldier, grieving her husband’s death, paid the fortune-teller a total of nearly one million hryvnias for help. Each time, for consultations and assistance with lifting curses and “cleansing karma,” the woman transferred between 6,000 and 50,000 hryvnias.

Another suspect “removed a curse” from a client for a total of 370,000 hryvnias. For all the rituals, divinations, and “magic candles” priced at 5,000 hryvnias, the suspects received payments transferred to the bank cards they provided.

In addition, the women were intimidated with the threat that something might happen to their family members, particularly their children, if they did not complete all the rituals, which required several sessions.

The actions of the three “fortune-tellers” have been classified under Parts 4 and 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—fraud committed repeatedly, under martial law, using electronic computing equipment.

Other victims are being identified.