Kidnapping in Kryvyi Rih: entrepreneur tortured with a soldering iron and demanded $500,000 ransom
8 October 18:49
A local businessman was kidnapped in Kryvyi Rih. According to the investigation, three of the man’s friends invited him to a meeting in a cafe, where they took him out through the back door wearing balaclavas and armed with weapons.
He was taken to a private house in one of the villages of Kryvyi Rih district, where he was beaten, tortured with a soldering iron and poured with boiling water for three days, demanding $500 thousand in ransom. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
When the criminals suspected that they might be exposed, they took the man to a field and left him there, threatening him with death.
Evidence and detention
During searches of the suspects, law enforcement officers found
- weapons
- a soldering iron and other torture instruments,
- forged police IDs,
- cars,
- cash and phones.
Three residents of Kryvyi Rih were served a notice of suspicion under articles of the Criminal Code:
- ч. 2 of Art. 146 (illegal deprivation of liberty),
- ч. 4 of Art. 189 (extortion).
They face long-term imprisonment. The investigation is ongoing, the involvement of other persons is being checked.
This is not the first case of kidnapping with extortion of large sums in Ukraine:
- in Kyiv, a group of five people recently kidnapped a 24-year-old man, beat him and held him in an office, demanding $50,000 in “debt.” The organizer was a native of Donetsk.
Law enforcement officials emphasize that the use of torture and forged documents indicates an increase in the level of organization of such groups.
