100k victims; 50 nations, $1mn daily revenue: Russia raids massive scam centre, watch video

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) Monday (Dec 9) said it had carried out raids at a call centre and detained people accused of defrauding over 100,000 people across 50 nations, including Indians. A video shared by the intelligence agency shows the masked agents storming a business centre and rounding up people. The FSB said the crime ring also targeted people from India under the guise of investment deals.

FSB statement

“The call centres were part of an international organised crime ring engaged in massive fraud against citizens of the EU, U.K., Canada, Brazil, India, Japan and others under the guise of investment deals,” the FSB said. “Revenues from its illegal activities reached $1 million a day.”

The call centres were allegedly operated by former Georgian Defence Minister D Kazerashvili, who now lives in London.

The FSB detained several operatives, including Israeli-Ukrainian citizen Keselman Ya D, during the operation. Meanwhile, another operative named Todva D, an Israeli-Georgian citizen, is believed to be at large. The duo allegedly oversaw operations at the call centre and had a hand in spreading fake terror threats inside Russia.

According to the FSB, the call centre received instruction from Ukraine’s SBU security service in 2022 to disseminate a fake terror threat in Moscow, Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod at the height of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

India angle

The call centre employees would often target people in India, a country that has the world’s largest market for digital transactions. They would lure people into making fake ‘investments’ in return for lucrative profits, eventually scamming them of their hard-earned money.

(With inputs from agencies)