Moscow Man Accuses Travel Agent of Fraud

A Moscow resident has accused a woman from Volgograd of deceiving him and misappropriating 763,000 rubles ($9,300 at current rates) after she promised to arrange a family vacation to Bali. Two days before departure, the man learned that no tickets or hotel rooms had been registered in his name, and the money he had transferred over six months was nowhere to be found. A lawyer and a travel industry expert explained how to avoid such troubles.

“First she said the island was flooded, then she couldn«t process a refund”

Roman planned to go on vacation to Bali with his family in July. He sought help organizing the trip from Maria (name changed — Editor«s note), the director of a travel agency with whom his family had worked before and knew as a reliable professional (the full details of the people in this article are available to the V1.RU editorial team — Editor»s note).

— A friend recommended her a year ago. She said she had supposedly been working with her for 10 years. Maria lives in Volgograd but also works with tourists from Moscow. We booked one tour through her, everything was okay. The second one was fine too. But with the third tour, this whole story began, — Roman says.

Roman«s family did not sign a contract with Maria. All trip details, ticket purchases, hotel selection and booking were discussed by phone or in messages back at the end of last year. The total cost of the Bali tour for 6 people was 893,000 rubles ($10,900 at current rates).

— For the first two tours she took full payment, but on the third she said she had supposedly paid the full cost of the tour upfront with her own money, and we could repay her gradually by bank transfer, — Roman says. — The first time we flew, we paid for the tour to the agency«s legal entity, and Maria simply sent us the vouchers and flight bookings two days before departure. Already in October, when the second tour happened, it became somewhat suspicious, because we were transferring money to an individual, someone else, not Maria. But the tour took place, though also without a contract or anything.

The third time, according to Roman, Maria asked him and his family to pay the full amount for the tour by March.

“We had to pay another 200,000”

— In seven payments we transferred about 900,000 rubles in amounts of 100,000, 200,000, 300,000. Two days before the departure, which was scheduled for 27 March 2026, Maria said that Bali was flooded, the hotel was not accepting guests, and the booking had to be canceled. We wrote to the hotel where we were supposed to check in, and they said everything was fine, they were operating as usual. Maria said it had to be canceled anyway and offered another option with an additional payment.

According to the Jakarta Globe (an Indonesian online news outlet), on 24 February 2026, Bali authorities issued a highest-level warning about adverse weather conditions, as days of torrential rain caused widespread flooding, landslide risks, and dangerous sea conditions across the island, disrupting daily life in Denpasar and several major tourist areas.

Meteorologists warned locals and tourists that moderate to heavy rain was expected from 24 to 26 February, with warnings ranging from yellow (watch) to red (extreme) issued in most districts and cities.

At the Risata Bali Resort & Spa, where the tourists were supposed to stay, Roman was confirmed that the building had indeed been flooded during the flooding, but by mid-March the situation had returned to normal, the hotel was operating again and accepting guests:

Responding to a V1.RU inquiry, the hotel said that some rooms are still closed due to the February flooding:

“Yes, in February we encountered an unforeseen flood that affected the hotel grounds, and we had to make the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations, — the response from Risata Bali Resort & Spa says. — From 20 February to mid-March we did not accept guests; unfortunately, we had to cancel all bookings for that period. The hotel was closed until mid-March, after which we partially resumed operations, as all ground-floor rooms were damaged by the flooding. We are now gradually opening ground-floor rooms; overall the hotel is operating as usual, but some rooms downstairs remain closed as we need to repair the flood damage.”

Roman«s family asked for a refund, but the clients were unable to get the full amount back.

— Maria promised she had filed a refund request, but refused to give the request number, saying: “We«ve been working a long time, you should trust me.” There was no refund, except once when 250,000 rubles ($3,000 at current rates) were transferred to us. Every week she said that “the refund is taking longer than usual.”

In April, Maria said the funds would arrive within 60 days, but after that period expired she said the refund was delayed indefinitely.

— On day 61 I wrote to Maria, and she said the travel agency was supposedly no longer responding to her refund inquiries. I said to her: “So do I understand correctly that we can«t get the money back, but, figuratively speaking, the next day we can fly somewhere through you?” She replied: “Yes, of course.” I said: “Well then let»s book, what else can we do.” In June we chose another tour, but there was an additional payment of 232,000 rubles ($2,800 at current rates). We transferred the money, she sent the accommodation vouchers, and we didn«t communicate with her for a month.

“We have to fly, but there are no tickets and no money either”

Two days before departure, Roman discovered that Maria had paid for nothing and the trip fell through:

— The departure was supposed to be on 9 July. My parents had come to Moscow from another city specially, we were all looking forward to the trip. Two days before departure, that is on 7 July, I wrote to Maria and asked where the tickets were. I wrote to the hotel asking whether there was even a booking in our names. The hotel said there had been no booking for such tourists at all. The voucher listed the tour operator as “Russky Express.” I asked them. They said no payments had been received for these tourists either. I called Aeroflot, and they said there were no tickets. After that Maria went silent, didn«t respond. On the day of departure she wrote that because we had supposedly threatened her with police, she lost her temper and said she had canceled everything completely. But we are certain that»s a lie.

Suspecting fraud, Roman filed a report with a police station in Moscow, but he has still not received a response from law enforcement and does not know what stage the investigation is at. In total, Roman«s family, according to the man, suffered damages of 763,000 rubles ($9,300 at current rates).

“They are poisoning my life, writing everywhere that I«m a fraudster”

Maria herself assured a V1.RU correspondent that the clients themselves did not want to sign a contract. The woman also insisted that there were no illegal actions on her part, and that the trip fell through due to unforeseen circumstances.

— The first time there was flooding on the island, the hotel was partially flooded, which is why they were not accepting guests. Accordingly, the hotel told us that we could not check the tourists in. I returned part of the money immediately. I managed to do a re-credit — that«s our internal travel agency system. The clients decided to rebook the tour, but the thing is, we had a technical glitch, the booking fell through. I tried to restore it. But from the client»s side, insults immediately started flying at me, and accordingly, the booking was fully canceled, but the money is with the tour operator.

According to Maria, the refund request was canceled because of a technical glitch in the system.

— I tried to explain this to them, but the guys simply didn«t want to listen to me. Insults poured in my direction. I offered them other options, I said: “Guys, I can try to rebook you now, for example, on connecting flights, that is with transfers.” But again they don»t hear me, they don«t give me any opportunity to do anything. The booking was canceled, I said: “That»s it, wait for the refund,” — Maria says. — I«m not deceiving anyone, I said right away: “I don»t need your money, it«s not mine. It»s with the tour operator, when it comes back — I«ll give it to you.” They were supposed to process our refund by the end of the month, but it happens, yes, that the tour operator itself can delay it by 2–3 days. I said: “Wait. Just wait for the refund.”

The refund, according to Maria, is delayed for technical reasons beyond the agent«s control. Now, as Maria assures, dissatisfied clients have launched a whole campaign against her, trying to ruin her reputation, and are even sending threats her way.

— They post about me on social media, they list my full name, phone number, they say I deceived them, they call me a fraudster, they write to all the media, — Maria says. — I asked them to at least not do this, not to post anything. Why do that? Should I then go and maybe file a police report myself saying that someone is trying to smear me, defame my honor and dignity, trying to slander me?

According to Maria, she received rather unfriendly messages from Roman«s friends:

— I tell them, do you understand that this way we won«t speed up the refund process. We simply won»t speed it up. They start intimidating me, they start sending me some threats, — Maria says. — I want to end this matter and for them to stop tormenting me with all this, scaring me with threats about my child, that they will make sure my child is taken away from me. I«m a single mother sitting here with my son and afraid to let him outside. A friend of this Roman wrote to me that he would file a report with the juvenile affairs service, that he would send some letter to the school. There were also other very strange and frightening messages from their supposed representative.

Huge loan debts and more

According to the website of the Federal Bailiff Service, Maria currently has 14 open enforcement proceedings totaling more than 514,000 rubles ($6,300 at current rates). Among them are debts on loan payments, other property-related recoveries in favor of individuals and legal entities, tax and levy collection, and debt under an enforcement document and enforcement fee.

The travel agency where Maria is listed as founder and general director, according to bailiff data, has debts of 1,164,983 rubles ($14,200 at current rates). Of that, 1,046,057 rubles is for a loan, and the rest is other property-related recoveries in favor of individuals and legal entities and debts for insurance costs.

The V1.RU editorial team sent an official written request to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the city of Moscow asking for clarification on what measures were taken regarding Roman«s report, whether it was forwarded to the Volgograd Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and whether similar complaints had been filed against Maria previously. As of publication time, no response had been received from law enforcement.

Save screenshots and chats, but don«t panic online

Protecting yourself from fraudsters, according to experts, is not that difficult. The main thing is to sign a real contract even with “trusted people” you«ve worked with more than once. According to Roman Grebennikov, owner of the Spartak law firm, the client»s main mistake was not signing documents. Now the case, if no refund occurs, will be resolved only in court.

— For the future, to avoid getting into such difficult situations, it is necessary to conclude a contract with the travel agent that spells out in detail the algorithm of their actions: booking tickets, hotels, excursions, if they are needed and agreed upon with the client. A contract is a guarantee of the detailed obligations and rights of each party, — Roman Grebennikov believes.

Screenshots of chats, if there is no other evidence of agreements made, according to the lawyer, can also be useful in defending your rights:

— If there is no written contract with the travel agency, then messenger correspondence can also be recognized by a court as part of contractual relations. Therefore, the correspondence should be saved for later use as evidence.

But the lawyer does not advise getting worked up and spreading warning posts on social media with the full personal data of the offending travel agent:

— I would not recommend spreading any negative information about a travel agent publicly before a court verdict in a criminal case against the travel agent or a court decision in a civil lawsuit against the travel agent comes into legal force, — Roman Grebennikov says. — Because spreading such information without references to a court verdict or court decision can indeed be considered defamation and will end with claims being brought against the client himself.

“All information can be verified in the federal register”

Olga Sigacheva, owner of the travel agency Votpusk, is also convinced that doing any business without a signed contract is not worth it:

— Without a contract, the person was essentially communicating not even with a travel agency, but with some girl, an individual, and moreover transferred money to an individual«s account. In court he will have to prove that they had an agreement, and that he didn»t just transfer this money as a friend. Travel agencies always work under a contract; it is also signed electronically and sent online. Or, for example, many agencies, like ours, have a personal account where a person can always see their contract, all their bookings, all actions under the contract, information about the tour, tickets, etc. The contract must specify the tour operator, and the client can contact them directly and verify information about their booking if the travel agent behaves improperly, hides, doesn«t get in touch and doesn»t return money.

Moreover, as Olga Sigacheva notes, Russia has a unified federal register of travel agencies and a similar register of tour operators, where you can check whether the company offering services to a client actually operates.

To confirm all trip details, the client receives confirmation from the tour operator:

— The tour operator sends confirmation of the travel agent directly to the client on its letterhead, and it lists all the tour parameters and the price. If everything is done properly and honestly, then after payment the client receives an electronic voucher from the tour operator«s website, but for that the travel agent must have done everything correctly, specified their data, phone numbers, email, and then an electronic document will be sent to the client»s email. This is what our government was aiming for, to avoid such dishonest deals, — Olga Sigacheva says. — A website called “Electronic Voucher” was created; all vouchers go there, into the Rostourism register, if they are properly issued. This is done to monitor the work of travel agencies and tour operators.