A fraudulent scheme with preferential mortgages was uncovered in St. Petersburg

Brief retelling from RIA II

Petersburg police detained alleged participants in an illegal scheme for obtaining preferential mortgages totaling about 155 million rubles.

From April to December 2023, the defendants used fake borrowers and fictitious documents to obtain loans for the construction of private houses.

After approval, the construction of houses either stopped or was carried out using cheap materials, which made it possible to appropriate the bulk of the borrowed funds.

St. PETERSBURG, October 12 – RIA Novosti. The St. Petersburg police detained alleged participants in an illegal scheme to issue preferential mortgage loans to fake borrowers for the construction of private houses totaling about 155 million rubles, the press service of the regional headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation reported.

“Criminal investigation officers... stopped the activities of a group whose members are suspected of stealing funds allocated by a financial institution as part of a preferential mortgage lending program,” the report says.

As noted by the GUMVD, as a result of operational search activities in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, in the capital region, as well as in the Samara region, two men and a woman were detained. They are involved in criminal cases of fraud, combined into one proceeding.

According to preliminary data, from April to December 2023, the defendants attracted fake borrowers and, using fictitious documents, issued mortgage loans in their names for the construction of private houses.

Moreover, after receiving loans, construction either stopped or proceeded using the cheapest materials, which made it possible to appropriate the bulk of the borrowed funds.

In this way, at least 13 preferential mortgage loans were issued for a total amount of over 154.8 million rubles, the regional headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs clarifies.