False brokers who deceived 250 investors were exposed in Moscow

According to Kommersant, the criminal case involves LLC International Financial Center (MFC), LLC Academy of Financial and Investment Management (AUFI), LLC Higher School of Financial Management (HSE) and LLC Global Finance. Organizations without a license, promising quick profit from cooperation, created the appearance of conducting brokerage activities, and appropriated funds received from clients. At least 250 investors managed to deceive the defendants.

The materials of the case indicate that the attackers caused damage to the victims "more than 1 million rubles," but the victims indicated that the number of victims from the actions of fraudsters can be in the thousands, and the amount of money stolen from investors can be several billion rubles.

The scheme was the same in each case: in order to find potential victims, the scammers called the numbers from the purchased databases, offering free investment advice, inviting them to one of the presentable offices rented in the Moscow City skyscrapers or business centers on Valovaya and Lesnaya streets.

Then contracts were concluded for consulting services when opening a "personal account" with one of the fictitious brokers, the publication describes. For example, the HSE recommended transferring money to Bristol House Corporation registered in the Marshall Islands, which in fact does not have licenses to provide financial services in any country in the world.

Investors were convinced of the rapid growth of income, offered to make additional investments. When clients were going to withdraw funds, they were refused under various pretexts, stating, for example, that the funds were sanctioned or that the shares bought with them suddenly collapsed. Global Finance and AUFI worked according to a similar scheme. Employees in the office accepted clients' money in rubles, converted it into dollars, and then into cryptocurrency, which was allegedly sent to the Asset Capital Business broker registered in the same Marshall Islands.

Now preventive measures have been taken against several participants of the scheme. DIEA CEO Vitaly Fedorov was placed under house arrest in December 2022 on charges of fraud. Several managers of Global Finance LLC are currently in custody. They were detained at the same time as the director General of AUFI Arseniy Dadashev. With regard to the cashier of AUFI Snezhana Zaporozhets, the court limited itself to banning certain actions.