Hommam Al Nassim 
Russia’s Federal Security Service has arrested nine people on charges of online fraud and stealing $540,000 worth of money and transferring that money to Ukrainian forces.
Irina Volk, spokeswoman for the Russian Interior Ministry, confirmed that the Criminal Investigation Department and the Federal Security Service were able to arrest the nine suspects, who are suspected of forming a fraudulent gang targeting citizens and stealing their money.
The spokeswoman said that the damage caused by the activity of this gang exceeded 50 million rubles, and these funds were also used to finance Ukrainian forces.
Falk explained that the gang began its activity last spring, as the attackers used psychological techniques to exploit the trust of their victims, persuading them to take out loans and transfer money to certain accounts.
The spokeswoman added that the fraudsters blackmailed their victims with the alleged danger that threatens them and their families, forced them to travel to other areas, threatening to kill the people they claimed to have abducted.
Falk noted that victims of fraud were forced to live in rented apartments for several days, while fraudsters extorted money from their relatives and threatened to kill the person they kidnapped.
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