The investigative authorities of the Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Moscow have opened four criminal cases against members of an organized group on charges of crimes under part 4 of Article 159 (fraud committed by an organized group on an especially large scale) and clauses "a" and "b" of part 4 of Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code of the RF (legalization (laundering) of property acquired by criminal means, committed by an organized group, on an especially large scale).
According to the investigation, three organizers of the criminal activities devised a scheme to commit crimes that involved obtaining the documents of apartment residents, illegally producing passports in their names with photographs of their associates, preparing forged documents on behalf of the residents, and conducting actions under the guise of converting state property into private property for subsequent sale at their discretion.
From 2010 to 2024, the organizers of the criminal activities, with the involvement of law enforcement officers and employees of other agencies, in the course of collecting information about real estate objects, the rights to which they could have acquired fraudulently, received information about the identities of deceased citizens who had in use and ownership apartments in Moscow. Then, the accomplices submitted forged documents to the executive authorities, courts, and notary offices. By deceiving employees of the Moscow City Property Department, they signed agreements transferring residential premises to individuals controlled by the accomplices, allowing them to register the apartments as their own property.
As a result of their criminal actions, the accomplices acquired ownership of more than 60 apartments in Moscow, causing property damage to the city that exceeds 250 million rubles.
Investigators from the Moscow Investigative Committee, in collaboration with officers from the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Moscow and the FSB of Russia for Moscow and the Moscow Region, have arrested the organizers and members of the criminal group, conducted more than 40 searches at the residences and workplaces of the accomplices. More than 40 individuals have been brought to the Moscow Investigative Committee for investigative actions and they are being checked for involvement in the specified crimes.
Official Representative of the Investigative Committee of Russia S. Petrenko
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