The FSB reported the detention of 11 leaders and employees of the Russian offices of the 'international call center network', engaged in fraud in the interests of the former Minister of Defense of Georgia, David Kezerashvili.
The statement on the agency's website claims that the 'call centers' were part of an international organized criminal community engaged in fraud under the guise of investment transactions in EU countries, as well as in the UK, Canada, Japan, Brazil, and India. According to the intelligence service, 100,000 people from 50 countries were affected by the activities of this community.
Among those detained in Russia is an Israeli and Ukrainian citizen, Y. Kaselman, whom the FSB considers the leader of the call centers. Another leader with the surname Todva has been declared wanted, according to the agency's release. The FSB also found a 'Ukrainian trace': in 2022, the call centers 'on the instructions of the SBU' organized the distribution of anonymous messages about impending terrorist attacks in Moscow, Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod.
The detainees are charged with organizing a criminal community, large-scale fraud, and knowingly false reporting of a terrorist attack.
David Kezerashvili held the position of Minister of Defense of Georgia from 2006-2008. After his resignation, he was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison for embezzling more than 5 million lari (about 1.6 million dollars) from the country's budget. The former Georgian official lives in the UK.
The Russian intelligence service listed words and phrases indicating that citizens are being called by phone scammers. These are 'FSB', 'MVD', 'Investigative Committee', 'bank security service representative', 'safe account', 'your civic duty', and others.