In St. Petersburg, three people were detained in connection with the theft of payments to war participants; according to Sever.Realii, the group was headed by an ex-employee of the Russkiy Mir Foundation

Petersburg police and the Russian National Guard detained three men, aged 28, 35 and 40, who are suspected of fraud with payments to war participants in Ukraine. The press service of the St. Petersburg police reports this.

A criminal case has been initiated against the defendants under articles of fraud and illegal banking activities. One of the detainees was arrested by the court, the other two were given house arrest and a ban on certain actions.

According to investigators, the group operated, in addition to St. Petersburg, in the Leningrad and Novgorod regions. The suspects, investigators believe, deliberately targeted “socially disadvantaged” citizens and people “in difficult life situations.” After this, they were convinced to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense, for which they used “corrupt connections” in recruiting centers and district administrations.

As a result, group members gained control over military payments. Money was withdrawn from their accounts using shell companies. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is also aware of cases where war participants were persuaded to enter into fictitious marriages in order to subsequently receive posthumous payments.

As part of the case, searches were carried out in three regions, including the administration of the Novgorod region. The investigation estimates the total damage at 10 million rubles.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not name the names of those detained. The publication “Sever.Realii” claims that one of them is 35-year-old resident of St. Petersburg Andrei Eliseev, whom the Ministry of Internal Affairs considers the head of the group. According to the publication, he was previously the founder of the travel company Novagroup. In 2014, Eliseev worked as a driver in the St. Petersburg branch of the Russkiy Mir Foundation, which was created in 2007 on the initiative of Vladimir Putin. The organization promotes the Russian language in the world. Since 2022, it has been under EU sanctions.