The Interior Ministry and the Investigative Committee have announced the dismantling of a criminal network in cooperation with their Russian counterparts. The group specialised in document forgery and real estate fraud. Arrests were carried out in both Belarus and Russia.
According to the Interior Ministry, a 59-year-old native of the Minsk Region, previously convicted multiple times, moved to Russia after serving another prison sentence. There, he was also imprisoned for large-scale theft. Between 2021 and 2024, he established a criminal network. His associates initially focused on producing counterfeit seals, stamps and documents, which were manufactured in Belarus and delivered by courier to buyers in Russia.
The forged documents were later used to support inheritance claims involving deceased or long-absent individuals. The properties involved were apartments in Moscow. Front persons posing as relatives claimed ownership. Using this scheme, the group managed to take control of four apartments in the Russian capital.
“The perpetrators identified deceased, missing or long-term absent Moscow residents who had no heirs, and then registered ownership rights to their real estate using forged documents, including through fictitious marriages and sham property sale transactions,” the Investigative Committee said.
The suspects did not manage to sell the apartments.
Four suspects were detained in Belarus. Another 12 people have been arrested in Russia.
A joint investigative and operational task force was established with Russian authorities to solve the case.
