Police in Russia's Zabaykalsky Krai have detained a 71-year-old pensioner from Vladivostok for allegedly stealing 20 million rubles as part of a nationwide telephone fraud operation. The official press outlet MVD Media reported the arrest on its Telegram channel.
Law enforcement authorities opened a criminal case against the man under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which covers fraud. Investigators said the elderly suspect became involved in the crime network after falling victim to phone fraudsters himself.
According to the police ministry, scammers initially contacted the Vladivostok resident and falsely claimed that money was being transferred illegally from his bank accounts to overseas recipients. The fraudsters warned the man that he faced criminal prosecution unless he cooperated.
The scammers persuaded the victim to sell his apartment and transfer the proceeds to them to avoid prosecution. After losing his property and savings, the pensioner agreed to follow instructions from a handler to travel across Russia, collect cash from other fraud victims, and deposit the money into third-party accounts.
Phone fraud schemes involving money couriers, often called financial mules, have become a widespread issue across Russia. Syndicates operating remotely frequently target elderly citizens, coercing victimized individuals into assisting with cash collections across different regions. MVD Media serves as the official news service for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, which oversees law enforcement and criminal investigations.
The Krasnokamensk investigation
The pensioner's arrest followed a complaint from a 41-year-old woman living in Krasnokamensk, a mining town located in the Zabaykalsky Krai region of eastern Siberia. The woman handed over 8 million rubles to the suspect, who acted as a cash collector for the fraud ring.
After realizing she had been tricked, the victim reported the incident to local police. Officers quickly gathered a physical description of the courier and launched an operation to track his movements across the region.
Zabaykalsky Krai is a federal subject located in eastern Siberia along Russia's borders with Mongolia and China. Krasnokamensk, the region's second-largest city, sits near the border, making long-distance travel between regional centers routine for transit couriers.
Arrest in Chita and scope of fraud
Police intercepted and detained the 71-year-old suspect as he was entering Chita, the administrative capital of Zabaykalsky Krai. Chita is a major transportation hub in eastern Siberia positioned along the historic Trans-Siberian Railway.
During a search of the suspect, officers seized the stolen cash and a mobile phone containing text messages exchanged with his handler. Police stated that eight other citizens were victimized by the courier's activities, bringing the total financial damage from his trips to approximately 20 million rubles.
The case highlights a growing series of high-value fraud operations reported across Russia in recent years. In a separate case previously reported by law enforcement, an elderly Russian woman lost 182 million rubles along with a collection of gold coins to telephone scammers.
