Law enforcement officials have exposed Stanislav Rechinsky, the owner of a media outlet and editor of the publication ORD, whom investigators suspect of extorting money in exchange for removing compromising articles. He was charged in Berlin, where a search was also conducted.
It has been reported that the victims in this case are Dmitry Strizhnov and the Sheriff Holding Company, which he heads. Strizhnov announced this in a post on social media.
According to him, for several years, a number of news outlets have been spreading false and defamatory material about him personally and the holding company’s activities. After another series of such publications, he began receiving demands for money in exchange for their removal.
“We turned to law enforcement. Today we have our first significant result,” Strizhnov noted.
According to the investigation, the suspect, along with others, organized a scheme in which false and defamatory material about individuals and legal entities was disseminated through news outlets and a Telegram channel. The victims were then extorted for money in exchange for the removal of the posts and a halt to their further dissemination.
Posts regarding Dmytro Strizhnov and the company he heads have appeared on these platforms since at least 2018.
Following another series of posts, the owner of the platforms, according to the investigation, made a specific demand of Strizhnov: to transfer cryptocurrency equivalent to 3,500 U.S. dollars. In exchange for this money, they promised to remove the articles that had already been published and stop their further dissemination.
After the funds were transferred, the relevant posts were removed from the website and Telegram channel.
Law enforcement officials note that the websites had an audience of many thousands but were not registered as online media outlets and were not listed in the Register of Media Entities.
Strizhnov thanked the National Police of Ukraine, the Cyber Police, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and German law enforcement agencies for their work.
Under the charged offense, the suspect faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
At the same time, the case is currently in the pretrial investigation stage, and the final legal assessment of the suspect’s actions must be made by a court.
Incidentally, Strizhov founded the security company “Sheriff” in 2003, starting out as a small business providing apartment security. Over time, the company grew into a large security holding company. He built a major business in the security sector. According to the All-Ukrainian Association of Business Leaders, SHERIFF currently provides security for over 40,000 clients and operates in the areas of physical security, remote monitoring, cash collection, bomb disposal, and engineering systems. He has driven innovation in the security sector. The holding company created its own app, MySheriff, and the company became a resident of “Diya.City.”
As a reminder, former Belarusian KGB officer Zakharov and his wife established a political blackmail network.
An employee of the Bila Tserkva Territorial Coordination Center was detained for blackmailing a soldier’s mother.
Moscow resorted to oil blackmail against Germany to stop Ukrainian drone attacks.
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