Giraffe, Christmas Tree, and Apple: St. Petersburg Court Reveals Fraud Details
The United Press Service of the St. Petersburg Courts reported on January 24 that a pre-trial restraint measure had been chosen for Vyacheslav Nikolayev. The Kalininsky District Court ordered him held in custody on fraud charges.
The investigation found that Nikolayev acted as a money mule. He personally collected cash from elderly people who had first been deceived over the phone by imposters pretending to be officials from various agencies. The accused would then convert the received cash into cryptocurrency, keeping a percentage for himself.
The press service noted that unusual code words were used for transferring the funds:
- giraffe
- apple
- Christmas tree
- tour guide
- accountant
- river (it is assumed the word «rika» meant «reka» – river)
According to the investigation, over just nine days, the man participated in defrauding at least nine people. The total amount stolen was 9,320,000 rubles (approx. $100,000 at current rates), of which Nikolayev himself received 130,000 rubles (approx. $1,400). He was detained on January 22 and will spend the spring in a pre-trial detention center.
