By Tass
Copyright tass
MOSCOW, September 15. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Investigative Committee dismantled an organized group whose members withdrew 2.5 billion rubles (almost $30 million) from Russia to sponsor the Ukrainian armed forces, the FSB press office told TASS.
According to it, five members of the group have been detained, and its organizer, a Latvian citizen and beneficiary of an international holding company, has been placed on an international wanted list.
“In cooperation with the Investigative Committee, the Federal Security Service has curbed the illegal activities of the leaders and employees of a group of microcredit companies involved in transferring more than 2.5 billion rubles abroad. This money was intended, among other things, to finance terrorist activities in Russia,” the FSB said. In turn, Investigative Committee Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko specified that the criminal group included a Latvian citizen and beneficiary of an international holding company, the head of a Russian microcredit organization, and four accomplices.
“The members of the criminal group made about 500 bank transfers totaling more than 2.5 billion rubles,” the spokeswoman said. In addition, two of the defendants systematically transferred foreign currency funds to support Ukrainian armed groups and provided them with vehicles used for terrorist activities in Russia.
The investigation revealed that, from 2022 to 2024, the beneficiary of an international holding company organized the withdrawal of substantial funds from microcredit organizations under his control in Moscow, Samara, and St. Petersburg. The money was transferred to the accounts of a foreign company as part of fictitious loan agreements. The assets were then transferred abroad for personal enrichment.
“Preventive measures have been taken against all those detained. They were charged with crimes under Article 193.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (Conducting Currency Transactions to Transfer Funds in Foreign Currency or Russian Currency to Non-resident Accounts Using Forged Documents), Article 187 (Unlawful Circulation of Payment Instruments Committed by a Group of Persons), Article 205.1 (Facilitation of Terrorist Activities),” Petrenko said.
