Inside RC Group: Luring Kazan Residents with Credit Cards
We previously published a large article about the work of the St. Petersburg IT company RC Group in Tatarstan. People who consider themselves victims of the company«s activities to varying degrees told how they ended up in RC Group and what it cost them (and it»s not just about money). I, a journalist from 116.RU, while preparing that publication, felt as if I had entered a separate world with its own rules, «stars,» and affirmations. I decided to test on myself whether clients are really persuaded to take out loans (as the victims themselves claim) and who is behind the «successful success» in Kazan.
Getting into RC Group was not difficult. On social media, I found a page called ULife. According to the Instagram profile (an extremist organization banned in Russia), it is a «community of successful people» with just over 2,000 followers. The profile features dances, AI-generated videos about the benefits of partnering with RC Pay (another RC Group structure), and reports from glamorous events.
ULife is not an organization in the usual sense. Rather, it is a local «hangout» for those who have joined RC Group and are trying to make money from it.
The link left in ULife«s social media leads to a small website where you are asked to leave your phone number and learn more. From there you can also go to the official RC account and the blog of Artyom and Elvira Marininy (who call themselves ambassadors of RC Group in Kazan). I left my application on this same site.
A girl, whom I understood to be a coordinator, quickly contacted me and confirmed the city. After a while, Kamila Giniyatullina wrote to me. She is another one of the «stars» of RC Group in Tatarstan. In her social media, the girl also boasts of a luxurious life, good income, and travel. And in her profile, she stated: «Mentor and millionaire at 30.»
Kamila corresponded with me very friendly and politely, and overall left a pleasant impression. We quickly agreed on a meeting. Kamila scheduled it at the RC office at 82 Bauman Street.
Preparing for the office visit, I spoke with many people who had encountered RC Group in one way or another, so to be honest, I was a little scared. I won«t go into the details of what I was told about the company now, but fortunately my expectations were not met. I kept a full recording of the conversations during my time in the office, but did not take any photos so as not to accidentally give myself away.
I arrived in the very center of Kazan and went up to the 4th floor of Svita Hall. I couldn«t find the right door right away because there was no sign. I had to bother people asking where the RC Group office was.
«I already have 50,000 rubles ($556 at current rates) accrued, see? A small amount, but nice.»
Entering the treasured door, I saw a modest but clean and tidy office. At the reception desk sat a young girl, and nearby, right by the entrance, a large guy about 25 years old. He immediately jumped up and came towards me. I don«t even know if he was a security guard or some other employee, but it definitely scared me. The situation became friendly when I said I had come to meet Kamila.
An impressive young woman came out to me, obviously stylishly and expensively dressed. This was Kamila Giniyatullina. She led me into a tiny room, literally 3 by 3 meters, with nothing but a table and two chairs.
I was shy, and Kamila noticed that. So she started the conversation with an introduction and talk about children. A truly foolproof approach when you are both mothers.
«I myself am a mother of two children and have been in this business for six years. I»m a creative person, and I needed something that would bring me income, pleasure, but not interfere with my family. And I found it!« Kamila said.
As a working mother, I understand that these words from Kamila are the perfect hook to lure in a newcomer. My interlocutor immediately started showing me the RC Group app on her phone, and it was clear how much internal currency was in Kamila«s wallet (a lot).
I asked Kamila to explain what RC Group is all about and how you can make money from it.
«We basically connect the client and the business. That is, we help people save on goods and services by directing them to specific entrepreneurs. And we give businesses direct access to clients through our app and advertising. It»s convenient for everyone, we are distributors here,« Kamila explained.
She spoke calmly, measuredly, and clearly. I admit, I am an easily suggestible person. While I was listening to her, I thought that this was really a great idea and that you could make money there. Probably, if I were 20, I would have agreed without thinking.
«Look. You connect partners, people, you can connect businesses. And when these people connect businesses, you will get your little cut from every receipt. Or when the people you brought use some services, you also get money. I already have 50,000 rubles ($556 at current rates) accrued, see? A small amount, but nice,» Kamila said.
According to her, the company has two client tariff options: Free (free) and the Smart option. In this case, the subscription costs 1,990 rubles ($22 at current rates), and you only need to pay once.
«With the Free tariff, cashback goes up to the second level, discounts and bonuses are half as much, and there is no referral program. But Smart has a referral program. For example, you recommended the app to someone, they signed up, and you received a 500 ruble ($6 at current rates) reward,» Kamila explained.
She also explained the concept of «cashback up to the second level»:
«Suppose you recommended the app to a hypothetical Masha, she signed up, and you will get a percentage of her spending in the app. But when Masha recommends the app to Natasha, you won»t get a cut from Natasha. However, with the Smart tariff, you will,« Kamila said.
«The point is to create your own team, and that»s cool.«
Also, according to the girl, RC has partnership programs. There are four in total: «Business» (entry fee 20,000 rubles ($222 at current rates)), «Premium» (100,000 rubles ($1,100 at current rates)), «Franchise» (250,000 rubles ($2,800 at current rates)), and «Gold Franchise» (450,000 rubles ($5,000 at current rates)). All include training programs, full support, and help from mentors (in my case, it would be Kamila herself), and they differ in cashback percentages and, in the last case, the ability to directly connect third-party businesses.
«Look, the simplest »Business« tariff has 6 levels of income from cashback and includes 40 client apps. And you can recommend them, and for each person you bring in, you will receive 1,000 rubles ($11 at current rates). In fact, to recoup the »Business« tariff, you need to make 20 registrations in the app through your referral link, and that»s it,« Kamila said.
However, according to her, the point of the RC Group business is not that.
«The point of the business is not to throw around links and make money from that. No. The point is to create your own team, and that»s cool. At this point, men usually say, «Ahhhhh, I see.» For some reason, they don«t believe in working with a team at all, they are such skeptics,» Kamila said laughing.
«At the sixth level, you will already have a client base of 15,000 people, imagine!»
Kamila«s husband did not approve of her decision to join RC Group, but she did not listen to him and does not regret it at all. I think Kamila brought this up because of my cover story. I said that I was planning to go from one maternity leave to another and live off my husband.
«So look, you find yourself 5 people. And they then each find 5 people, and now you have 25 people! That is, at the sixth level, you will already have a client base of 15,000 people, imagine! So you don»t have to constantly invite people, no. You need to find your team and then lead it; that«s how you will make money,» Kamila said.
She clarified that the example of 5 people in a team was just an example. You could find even two people, the main thing is that they are energized and ready to work.
«You yourself are energized, you know how to communicate with people. I think that you and I will definitely succeed,» Kamila said as she saw me to the exit.
«It reminded me of a pyramid scheme.»
After leaving, I thought for a long time. The phrases about chains of attracting partners and making money from them made me wary. From my perspective, without a legal or economic education, it all reminded me of a pyramid scheme.
The Central Bank, by the way, identifies 8 signs of a financial pyramid.
At least one of these points — payment through attracting new participants — immediately stands out. That«s exactly what Kamila was telling me.
As for a license from the Central Bank to carry out financial activities, I could not find one on the RC Group website. In the accreditation section, there is a license from the Central Bank, but it concerns a ZHNK (housing savings cooperative). That«s when members save money together and then buy housing in order of priority.
At the same time, RC Group is not on the Central Bank«s list of financial pyramids. The company»s representatives themselves vigorously deny any reports and allegations that RC Group might have any signs of a financial pyramid, and they call themselves an IT company.
Credit cards still appeared
Analyzing the meeting, I realized that I did not encounter any of what I had heard from people who had previously given money to RC Group: persuasion to take out a loan, or how employees themselves take newcomers« phones and apply for credit cards from them (this is described in detail in our large article).
Talking to me, Kamila was tactful and did not force me into anything. As other former «partners» later told me, perhaps the reason is that I look like an adult woman. After all, stories of forcing loans are common among students. I can neither confirm nor deny this.
But credit cards did appear in my dialogue with Kamila. She wrote about it in a voice message in the evening after the meeting, when I said that my husband refused to give me money for the partnership program.
Further, to avoid any misunderstandings, I will quote Kamila«s full message.
«Listen, actually, you can buy our tariffs with a card. That is, we have people who buy with a credit card, and there are all sorts of installment cards. So you can simply buy with a card; it»s like an online purchase with an interest-free period. You know, take that responsibility on yourself, try yourself in it. Yes, I«m talking about the small tariff, not the big groups; later you»ll figure them out yourself. Write. Maybe your husband will turn around, see that you like it, and maybe we«ll give him a presentation later,» Kamila said.
In the end, I replied that my husband was against it, and I would think about the credit card. We did not correspond anymore.
We have previously written about Kamila Giniyatullina. The car that the girl actively shows in her social networks can often be seen on the roads of Kazan.
Let us remind you that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tatarstan is investigating two criminal cases related to the activities of RC Group. As previously reported to our publication by the press service of the department, the cases were opened in Naberezhnye Chelny and Kazan. In total, more than 150 people have been recognized as victims. They lost various sums — from 50,000 to 200,000 rubles ($556 to $2,200 at current rates).
«Clients were offered to bring as many friends, acquaintances, and relatives into the company as possible for certain bonuses. In reality, many of those who applied to the company did not receive the promised results from the purchased programs,» the MVD for Tatarstan previously said.
At the moment, the investigation of the criminal cases is ongoing.
* An extremist organization whose activities are banned on the territory of the Russian Federation.
