In Moscow, a тревожная story of fraud unfolded as scammers swindled RAS academician Valentin Chanturia out of more than 20 million rubles. According to a law enforcement source cited by RIA Novosti, the incident prompted a formal investigation and drew attention to the methods used by criminal networks to exploit the elderly.
Over the course of a week, the attackers repeatedly reached Chanturia and his wife by telephone. They posed as police officers and urged the elderly couple to move their savings to a seemingly secure channel, convincing them that doing so would protect their money. The ruse was successful to a troubling degree, with Chanturia and his spouse losing more than 20.8 million rubles in the process. This sequence of events was reported by law enforcement officials and corroborated by the news agency (RIA Novosti, citing sources within the police).
In response, a criminal case was opened under the article concerning fraud committed by an organized group or on a particularly large scale. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation carries a maximum penalty of up to ten years in prison for such offenses, a detail noted by investigators and reflected in official statements (as reported by RIA Novosti, law enforcement sources).
Earlier, a separate incident in Moscow involved a man who was convinced by scammers to relinquish nearly 40 million rubles. The episode underscores a recurring pattern in which deception preys on trust and fear, especially among senior citizens, and it prompted broader inquiries by authorities into the effectiveness of protective measures for financial assets.
Additionally, a troubling case from Novosibirsk involved a former student who allegedly facilitated the theft of $26 million from an account linked to a major city monastery. This event adds to a larger narrative about cross-regional criminal activity and the vulnerabilities that can arise when digital and telecommunication channels are exploited by sophisticated fraud rings (reported by multiple law enforcement briefings and summarized by RIA Novosti).