The criminal case over the theft of payments from two servicemen was a trial that ended in September 2026 with a sentence passed on two residents of Dzerzhinsk in Nizhny Novgorod Region. In 2024 the convicted men took a total of more than 3.9 million roubles from the servicemen's bank accounts.[1]

The circumstances

In 2024 two residents of Dzerzhinsk — men aged 31 and 38 — deliberately sought out people intending to sign a military service contract. On the pretext of helping them pass the medical board and complete the necessary paperwork, they gained the confidence of the future servicemen.[2] Two volunteers became their victims: a 51-year-old resident of Chkalovsk and a 52-year-old resident of St Petersburg. Having obtained the men's bank cards, the offenders withdrew the incoming funds one payment after another in August and September 2024 — while the cardholders were in the combat zone.[1] The total amount stolen was 3,910,210 roubles.[1][3]

Arrest and trial

Criminal investigation officers identified the suspects, and in January 2025 both were detained in Dzerzhinsk.[1] The case was opened under the article covering theft committed by a group by prior conspiracy, from a bank account and on an especially large scale.[2] It was heard by the Chkalovsky District Court.[2] During the proceedings both defendants fully admitted their guilt and expressed remorse.[1]

The sentence

The court found both men guilty. One was sentenced to four years and six months of imprisonment, the other to four years; both are to serve their terms in a general regime penal colony.[1][4] The victims' civil claims were granted: to secure compensation, property of the convicted men worth more than 3.8 million roubles was seized.[5] At the time the reports were published the sentence had not yet come into force.[1]

Sources

  1. NIA Nizhny Novgorod — Two Dzerzhinsk residents sentenced for stealing 3.9 million roubles from servicemen (archived)
  2. Newsroom24 — Two residents of the region sentenced for stealing 3.9 million roubles from servicemen (archived)
  3. Zhivyom v Nizhnem — Dzerzhinsk residents to serve time for stealing almost 4 million roubles (archived)
  4. GTRK Nizhny Novgorod (Vesti) — Two Dzerzhinsk residents to go to a penal colony for stealing servicemen's payments (archived)
  5. Vremya N — Almost 4 million roubles stolen from servicemen of the region (archived)
Material from articles used (1)

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