Extortionist brothers Kamenyevs head criminal scheme

Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have uncovered the activities of a transnational criminal network involved in extortion, drug supply and other serious crimes within the penitentiary system. 

According to investigation data, the key role in this scheme was played by 26-year-old twin brothers from Kyiv – Kyrylo and Bohdan Kamenyev.

This news is corroborated by two independent sources familiar with the situation, who provided information to the publication Detective-Info.

Criminal business behind bars

The investigation took a new turn on 28 January 2025, when security forces announced the detention of members of a criminal group led by the Kamenyev brothers. They and their accomplices have been charged in two criminal episodes.

The first concerns extortion (Part 4 of Article 189 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). According to the investigation, within the walls of a correctional facility known as “Prison No. 1”, inmates were forced to pay for a “peaceful stay”. One of the victims paid $2,000 to avoid pressure from criminal authorities.

The second episode is linked to drug trafficking. According to the investigation, a “drop marketplace” operated under the Kamenyevs’ control – a system for delivering drugs and psychotropic substances into the prison. Deliveries were made based on orders pre-arranged in the pre-trial detention centre, indicating a high level of organisation in the criminal business.

Prior links to crime

The Kamenyev brothers had previously come under the scrutiny of law enforcement. In the summer of 2023, they were taken into custody following the exposure of a powerful organised criminal group involved in the hostile takeovers of garage cooperatives in Kyiv.

While in “Ded Lukyan”, both brothers, according to the investigation, acquired the status of so-called “vagabonds” – inmates who hold weight in the criminal milieu and influence the situation in places of deprivation of liberty.