The key facts
- Five suspects arrested until December 28, 2026 in a case of kidnapping, fraud, and extortion
- According to the investigation, the man was taken from Mytishchi to North Ossetia and forced to unlock a banking app
- The suspects demanded $6,000 and 70,000 rubles from the victim, and then planned to transfer another $7,600 to themselves
Court sends five suspects to pre-trial detention
Five men have been arrested in the Moscow region on charges of kidnapping a man who was forcibly taken to North Ossetia and coerced into granting access to a banking app in exchange for $7,600. This was reported by the press service of the courts of general jurisdiction of the Moscow region; the suspects will remain in custody until December 28, 2026.
The investigation's version: from extortion to taking the victim out of the region
According to the investigation, the story began on August 11 in Mytishchi: the suspects demanded $6,000 and 70,000 rubles from the victim, claiming the money would supposedly go toward bribing officials to end criminal prosecution. A week later, on August 18–19, they put the man in a car against his will and took him out of the Moscow region to North Ossetia, not allowing him to leave the vehicle. During the trip, the kidnappers, as investigators believe, exerted physical and psychological pressure, threatened violence, and demanded that he unlock the banking app — once they gained access to the account, they intended to transfer another $7,600 to themselves.
What is known about the case
A criminal case is being investigated against the five suspects under articles on kidnapping, fraud, and extortion. The Mytishchi City Court granted the investigators' motions and ordered the accused held in pre-trial detention until December 28. Thus, at this point, the report concerns only the investigation's accusatory version and the chosen measure of restraint: the publication does not report on any admission of guilt, the progress of the investigation, or the fate of the stolen money.
