Scam with "Pushkin Cards"

[Teacher]

"Pushkin card" handed over to the court.

A criminal case on embezzlement of budget funds has been completed

The Prosecutor General's Office of Russia has approved an indictment in a criminal case on large-scale embezzlement of funds allocated from the budget for the Pushkin Card program, which grants young people the right to visit state museums, theaters and other cultural institutions free of charge. According to the GSU TFR, individual entrepreneurs Viktor Yakubov and Emil Gurbanov, as well as MGIMO student Ilya Safonov, caused damage worth about 200 million rubles through card fraud. The materials of the criminal case were sent to the court for consideration on the merits.

The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation and the Investigative Committee of Russia, which conducted the case, announced the completion of the investigation of large-scale fraud in the implementation of the Pushkin Card program.

The Pushkin Card program was launched by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation in August 2021. You can apply for a card through an account on the Gosuslugi portal. The state credits it with 5 thousand rubles, which can be spent on buying tickets to museums, theaters, philharmonic halls, exhibitions and concerts. You can choose your favorite event, for example, on the portal " PRO.Kultura. RF". At the same time, it is impossible for owners to cash out funds or transfer them to another card. This is exactly what scammers decided to take advantage of, offering cardholders a variety of ways to cash out. Moreover, private entities were also involved in the implementation of the program, in some cases not having the appropriate licenses.

According to investigators, Viktor Yakubov, Emil Gurbanov and Ilya Safonov developed a plan to steal money from cards in early 2022. They, according to law enforcement officers, acted according to a fairly standard scheme. The attackers, according to investigators, were registered as individual entrepreneurs, opened bank accounts, and then registered on the PRO platform.Culture.Russian Federation" as organizers of cultural events. After that, "to create the appearance of a real fulfillment of their obligations, they concluded lease agreements for premises, and also held negotiations with representatives of artists who met the program criteria," the investigation materials say. Then the accomplices searched among Internet users for owners of "Pushkin cards "" with an unused limit of funds, who were persuaded to purchase tickets to cultural events organized by members of a criminal group." At the same time, the attackers were looking for people who agreed to issue "Pushkin cards" issued by the program operator — JSC "Post Bank", indicating in them "obviously unreliable personal data of recipients". In addition, cards from young people who want to get cash for half the price-this service was even advertised in social networks. After that, all these cards were used "for mass purchase of tickets for cultural events without the purpose of visiting them." During the verification of these operations, it turned out that often the number of tickets purchased "repeatedly exceeded the audience capacity of concert venues" rented by malefactors. As a result, the funds received for tickets that no one actually used went to the event organizers.

It should be noted that the signs of unfair use of "Pushkin cards" in September 2022 were reported by the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Olga Lyubimova. After that, her office began to identify " signs of illegal ticket sales to block the activities of fraudsters." Law enforcement agencies also joined the checks, as a result, in a number of regions, the activities of several groups of scammers who received budget money for holding fictitious cultural events were stopped.

According to the Investigative Committee, Viktor Yakubov, Emil Gurbanov and Ilya Safonov also provided the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation with false information about the events.

Moreover, in order to conceal criminal activity, they attracted "persons who were not aware of the theft being committed" to the crowd, but even in this case, as investigators found, the number of "spectators" at events "was significantly less than in the reporting data." Thus, the attackers "by providing false information managed to steal more than 205 million rubles of budget and bank funds."

The defendants were detained at the end of November 2022, and on December 2, the Basmanny Court of Moscow sent them to custody at the request of the GSU TFR. According to Kommersant, during the preliminary investigation, only Emil Gurbanov admitted guilt, and his accomplices continue to insist that all the events were absolutely real and therefore state funds were spent for their intended purpose.

In January of this year, the defendants Yakubov, Gurbanov and student Safonov were charged in the final version under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and announced the end of investigative actions. Now the Prosecutor General's Office has approved the indictment in the 30-volume case and sent the materials for consideration to the Basmanny Court of Moscow.

 

[Teacher]

Employees of UEBiPK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Perm Region together with colleagues from the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia "Bardymsky" detained a 29-year-old resident of Barda. He is suspected of embezzling budget funds using the Pushkin Map project, implemented as part of the national Culture project.

It was previously established that in 2023 the attacker, in cooperation with unidentified persons, organized a scheme for withdrawing money from Pushkin Cards.

"In order to commit a crime, the man got access to one of the online ticket sales services. Using a special app, he posted information about holding fictional cultural and leisure events. Pushkin Card holders purchased tickets to concerts, discos, and interactive games that were not organized or conducted in reality. After payment, the funds were transferred to accounts controlled by the attacker.

The investigative authorities opened a criminal case under part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to a court decision, a preventive measure in the form of remand in custody was chosen against the suspect," said Irina Volk, an official representative of the Russian Interior Ministry.

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[Friend]

The investigator of the Investigative Unit of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Samara Region completed the preliminary investigation of the criminal case of multi-episode fraud. Three residents of Samara are accused of a crime under part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

"According to the investigation, from July to November 2022, the attackers entered into a criminal conspiracy. The goal was to steal budget funds provided for the implementation of the federal program of social support for youth to increase the availability of cultural organizations.

One of the defendants posted information on the PRO.Culture of the Russian Federation platform about a fictitious event - the play "Imaginary Patient". At the same time, it was ensured that it met the criteria necessary for inclusion in the register of events of the Pushkin Card program and the adoption of an appropriate decision by the expert council of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

The defendants involved in their scheme more than 3300 young people from 62 regions of the Russian Federation, who were not aware of the crime being committed. With the help of the "Pushkin Cards" in their use, 3478 tickets for the performance were purchased, while the buyers did not attend the event.

The damage caused to the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation amounted to more than 12 million rubles," said the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia Irina Volk.

During the investigation of the criminal case, at the request of the investigator, the court seized the funds, cars and current accounts of the accused.

"The progress of the preliminary investigation was under the control of the leadership of the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. At present, the criminal case with the indictment approved by the prosecutor has been sent to the Oktyabrsky District Court of the city of Samara for consideration on the merits," Irina Volk added.

 

[Man]

In the Samara region, the investigation of another criminal case of fraud using "Pushkin cards" has been completed.

The investigator of the Investigative Unit of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Samara Region completed the preliminary investigation of the criminal case of multi-episode fraud. Two residents of the city of Togliatti, Samara Region, are accused of crimes under part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. They followed the same pattern as the previously reported group.

"According to the investigation, the crimes were committed in 2022. The attackers stole budget funds provided for the implementation of the federal program of social support for youth to increase the availability of cultural organizations.

To do this, on the PRO.Kultura.RF platform, the defendants posted information about fictitious performances of one of the capital's artists. The concert was included in the register of events of the Pushkin Card program. The accomplices ensured his compliance with the criteria necessary for the adoption of the relevant decision by the expert council of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

The defendants involved more than 3500 young people from several regions of the Russian Federation in their scheme. With the help of the "Pushkin Cards" in their use, more than 6000 tickets for concerts were purchased. At the same time, ticket buyers did not attend the events.

The damage caused to the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation amounted to more than 12 million rubles", said the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia Irina Volk.

In addition, one of the defendants is accused of legalizing 950 thousand rubles received by him as a result of fraud. He purchased an expensive car, which he soon put up for sale. On this fact, his actions were additionally qualified in accordance with Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

At the request of the investigator, the court seized the property and funds of the accused.

"The progress of the preliminary investigation was under the control of the leadership of the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

At present, the criminal case with the indictment approved by the prosecutor has been sent to the Avtozavodsky District Court of the city of Togliatti, Samara Region, for consideration on the merits", said Irina Volk.

 

[Man]

In the Yaroslavl region, law enforcement agencies identified a fraudster who profited from Pushkin Cards. And they uncovered a fraud scheme.

As it turned out, in 2022, the young man began to give ads on social networks about cashing out "Pushkin cards". The ads attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies.

When clarifying the details, it turned out that a 21-year-old resident of the Vologda Region, using forged documents, on behalf of the heads of municipal cultural institutions, passed verification on the PRO.Culture of the Russian Federation portal, becoming a participant in the Pushkin Card program.

Having received verification, he organized a fictitious sale of 390 tickets for non-existent cultural events in the Yaroslavl region. Through ads on social networks, he found students to whom he offered to "cash out" "Pushkin cards" for monetary compensation from 500 to 1000 rubles. Students handed over passwords to access cards, and the accused used them to purchase tickets to fictitious events organized by him.

After these "purchases", he applied for compensation to the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. And he got it. Moreover, for a considerable amount - 850 thousand rubles. He spent the funds received on the purchase of a car.

The cunning young man was detained. A criminal case was initiated against him under Part 3 of Article 30, Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (attempted fraud on an especially large scale), Part 1 of Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (legalization of funds acquired as a result of a crime). The case was investigated by the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The prosecutor's office approved the indictment. The case will be considered by the Vologda City Court. Criminal liability for such a "collection" of articles implies a punishment of up to 10 years of real imprisonment.

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[Man]

In the Kuban, the unfortunate entrepreneur cleaned out the "Pushkin Cards".

Several local residents contacted the police of the Timashevsky district with a report of fraud. The applicants reported that with the help of the "Pushkin Card" they purchased tickets for an evening tour of Krasnodar, but the organizer stopped getting in touch.

As a result of operational-search measures, police officers detained a 20-year-old local resident on suspicion of an illegal act.

It was established that the attacker registered as an individual entrepreneur for the organization of cultural and entertainment events. Having entered into an agency agreement, the young man sold 167 tickets for a total amount of more than half a million rubles, without fulfilling his obligations. He disposed of the stolen funds at his own discretion.

The fact of illegal activity was identified and documented by officers of the FSB of Russia in the Krasnodar Territory.

Currently, the investigative unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Timashevsky District has initiated a criminal case against the suspect on the grounds of a crime under part 3 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Fraud). The sanctions of this part of the article provide for a maximum sentence of imprisonment for up to six years. For the period of the preliminary investigation, the young man was chosen a preventive measure in the form of a recognizance not to leave and proper behavior.

Press Service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Krasnodar Territory.

"Pushkin Card" is a special bank card created for young people aged 14 to 22 years. Its owners receive 5 thousand rubles from the state once a year. They can be spent on any cultural events throughout Russia, which, in addition to entertainment, also have an educational function.

 

[Man]

Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia revealed the theft of more than 100 million rubles provided for the implementation of the state program "Pushkin Card".

Operatives of the Main Directorate of Economic Security and Anti-Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, their colleagues from the Northern and Central Administrative Districts of the capital and officers of the FSB of Russia detained the capital's entrepreneur. He is suspected of embezzling budget funds provided by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation for the implementation of the state program "Pushkin Card" of the national project "Culture".

"It was preliminarily established that the attacker was engaged in the organization of cultural events. Together with other persons, he held performances at various venues, the attendance of which could be paid for, among other things, with the help of the "Pushkin Card".

Through the Internet, scammers found young people who purchased tickets at the expense of targeted budget funds on the cards. At the same time, they had no intention of attending events. Thus, the funds that were provided for by the state program for the cultural development and education of young people were stolen, "said the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia Irina Volk.

Illegal activities have been carried out since 2021. The performances that were used in the theft scheme were held in cultural institutions in Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Republic of Bashkortostan, Novgorod, Samara, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Ulyanovsk regions. The Russian Federation suffered damage in the amount of more than 100 million rubles.

An investigator of the Investigation Department of the Internal Affairs Directorate for the Northern Administrative District of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Moscow initiated a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

"In Moscow and the Moscow region, searches were carried out at the places of residence and work of possible defendants. The accused was chosen a preventive measure in the form of detention.

Measures are underway to identify all accomplices in illegal activities", Irina Volk said.

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