Four arrested in Georgia for posing as law enforcement in “large-scale fraud scheme”

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia on Tuesday announced the arrest of four individuals, including three foreign nationals, for a “large-scale fraud scheme” that it said had targeted citizens in capital Tbilisi, in the city of Batumi in the west, and the eastern Mtskheta-Mtianeti region while presenting themselves as law enforcement officers. 

The group was contacting citizens while posing as officers from the Interior Ministry and falsely claimed their family members had caused traffic accidents, demanding bribes to have the issues resolved for them, the Ministry said. 

Once victims agreed, the suspects visited them, used fake identities to collect the money, and transferred the funds to a cryptocurrency wallet, the body added.

The scheme lasted several months, affected 61 citizens and resulted in fraudulent appropriation of ₾500,000 ($180,000), the MIA said. 

The individuals face charges of organised fraud, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.