Moscow police have arrested cryptocurrency exchange workers and a suspected courier after a 73-year-old pensioner was defrauded of 13.3 million rubles.
The operation was recorded on police video showing officers breaking down an office door and forcing workers face down onto the floor, according to footage provided to the Russian news outlet Lenta.ru by the Moscow directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Investigators intervened after the elderly woman reported that unknown callers claiming to be government officials told her that her account on the state portal Gosuslugi had been hacked. The callers told her she was suspected of financing illegal activities and instructed her to withdraw her savings and give the money to a courier.
Gosuslugi is Russia's unified government services portal, an electronic database used by citizens to access state administration, official records, and tax accounts. Fraud rings in Russia frequently target older residents by falsely claiming their official accounts or bank details have been breached by criminal investigators.
Raids on Moscow exchange offices
Officers from the criminal investigation department detained a 22-year-old Moscow man on Marshal Baghramyan Street after he collected the 13.3 million rubles from the victim. Following his arrest, the courier gave officers the address of the exchange office where he had taken the cash.
Police then raided premises on Mantulinskaya Street and Presnenskaya Embankment in Moscow's Presnensky District, an area known for commercial buildings and the capital's financial towers. Detectives detained four residents from the Volgograd region, aged between 20 and 30, inside the offices.
Searches of the premises uncovered more than five million rubles in cash, counting machines, and cryptocurrency sales agreements. Officers also found a paper shredder containing contracts that had been destroyed in an effort to conceal the transactions.
Airport arrest and fraud charges
A 26-year-old digital currency exchange worker was later intercepted at an airport while trying to flee Moscow. Five of the suspects have been remanded in custody, and authorities have launched a criminal case on fraud charges.
Police also encountered two additional fraud couriers during searches at one of the exchange offices. Detectives seized more than three million rubles from the pair, identified as a 19-year-old woman and an 18-year-old man.
