Four suspects in a fraud scheme involving payments to contract soldiers for service in the SVO zone have been detained in St. Petersburg, according to Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson Irina Volk.

According to the agency, the detainees brought recruits from other Russian regions to the city, where, using forged documents and connections at recruitment centers, they obtained contracts and bank cards for lump sum payments. The perpetrators then convinced the victims to leave the cards and online banking access under the pretext of "temporary use for transferring funds," after which they stole the money.

More than 40 people suffered as a result of the group's activities, with damages exceeding 80 million rubles. Criminal cases have been opened against the suspects for fraud and document forgery.