In the Sverdlovsk region, a gang that was abducting payments to participants of the Special Military Operation has been arrested.

      Employees of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Sverdlovsk Region, along with colleagues from the FSB in the Central Federal District, detained a group of individuals suspected of embezzling payments from citizens who signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense. This was reported by the press secretary of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Sverdlovsk Region, Valery Gorelykh.

      — A criminal case has been initiated under the article "Fraud committed by a group of individuals by prior agreement on a particularly large scale." This article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 10 years, — noted Gorelykh.

      According to him, the suspects, under various pretexts, persuaded men to enter into contracts for military service, after which they gained access to their bank accounts. They organized the registration of bank accounts and the issuance of bank cards in the names of the victims, and also used fictitious marriages to subsequently obtain monetary payments. One of the victims was a 46-year-old resident of the Vladimir Region, whom the suspects convinced to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense, promising a service not related to combat operations. He was defrauded of 3.8 million rubles. A 40-year-old resident of the Voronezh Region was also deceived, losing 2.3 million rubles. According to operational data, the gang is linked to at least 20 similar episodes.

      — Three men are involved in the case, who are already in pre-trial detention, and one woman who is under a travel ban. During searches, two pistols, three rifles, a large number of cartridges, a bayonet from a Kalashnikov assault rifle, handcuffs, a fake stamp of the migration issues department, many mobile phones, a fake identification of an employee of the central office of the Investigative Committee, documents, and a Courage Order of a military operation participant were found with one of the most active members of the gang. During the detention, he grabbed a kitchen knife from the table and inflicted a minor non-penetrating injury on himself. There is no threat to life, but this did not exempt him from arrest, — emphasized Valery Gorelykh.