Police detain 13 over alleged theft of Russian military payments

Russian police have detained 13 people suspected of stealing payments intended for military personnel, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said.

The arrests took place in the Moscow and Rostov regions, Kalmykia and Russian-controlled Donetsk. Volk put the average loss in each episode at 900 thousand rubles.

According to the ministry's preliminary account, the group contacted people preparing to sign military service contracts through social networks and messaging apps. The suspects allegedly posed as volunteers or regional Defence Ministry coordinators and offered help with paperwork.

They obtained powers of attorney to represent the recruits before government bodies. Volk said the suspects used those documents to arrange fictitious marriages and other transactions without the recruits' knowledge, accessed their bank cards and divided the stolen payments among themselves.

The operation involved the Interior Ministry's Bureau of Special Technical Measures, the Federal Security Service and the Investigative Committee. Criminal cases have been opened under articles 159, 286 and 291.2, covering fraud, abuse of official powers and petty bribery. Investigators are continuing to establish the circumstances.