Criminal investigation against defendants accused of series of frauds completed in Astrakhan

'Investigation unit of the MIA of Russia Administration for the city of Astrakhan completed the preliminary investigation of a criminal case against six citizens of Novosibirsk. They are accused of committing 14 episodes of fraud as part of an organized group.

During the investigation it was established that the defendants committed illegal actions on behalf of a commercial bank. They contacted citizens who wanted to get a loan with a favorable interest rate and left their data on the Internet for that purpose. The offenders, from a specially equipped call center, called potential borrowers and convinced them of the need to pay for insurance, as well as for the services of opening current accounts, documents processing and courier delivery of documents.

The victims transferred the money in the amount of about one hundred thousand rubles to the electronic wallet specified by the scams, after which the connection with pseudo-bankers was interrupted. The damage caused to residents of various regions of Russia amounted to more than 1 million rubles.

Astrakhan police, together with colleagues from Novosibirsk and the Rosgvardia, detained the defendants in July 2019. The suspects refused to let law enforcement officers into the rented office, and the police had to use special means for their detention.

The criminal case has been submitted to the Kirovsky District Court of the city of Astrakhan for consideration on the merits,' said the official representative of the MIA of Russia Irina Volk.