In search of scammers, Ulyanovsk security forces contacted a St. Petersburg cryptocurrency operator / 73online.ru

An investigator from the Zavolzhsky district seized the account of a 34-year-old St. Petersburg resident, which contained 2.1 million rubles. A man who deals with cyber finance found himself hostage to a situation when telephone scammers deprived a pensioner of her savings and bought his cryptocurrency with them.

The investigation into the criminal case of fraud began at the end of 2022. They called the Ulyanovsk pensioner and introduced themselves as FSB officers. The callers scared the grandmother – all the savings she had put aside were “compromised” and were being transferred to Ukraine. The woman was threatened with criminal prosecution, and she obeyed all instructions. The account indicated by the scammers received 2.1 million rubles. I transferred another million using other details. Realizing that she had become a victim of deception, she went to the police.

The detectives followed the trail of the first transfer. He led them to a resident of St. Petersburg, Mikhail V. The account belonged to a man who traded cryptocurrency on one of the exchanges. In return, he transferred virtual money to the scammers – a banal transaction took place. The trader had no idea about the source of the money.

On January 2, 2023, the Zavolzhsky District Court, at the request of the investigator, seized 2.1 million rubles belonging to Mikhail V. for the period of the preliminary investigation. The investigation has dragged on and they are still looking for the scammers.

Ulyanovsk lawyer Oleg Borisovwho represents the interests of Mikhail V., sent a complaint against the arrest to the Sixth Court of Cassation of Samara.

“The money was under arrest for more than a year, the investigation was repeatedly suspended. We provided all the documents to the investigator about the legality of the transaction and the origin of the money. My client is registered as self-employed and pays taxes on all transactions,” Borisov noted.

On Wednesday, April 24, Judge Nikolai Gerasimov granted the lawyer’s request and canceled the investigator’s ruling.

Photo: Oleg Borisov