A resident of Ingushetia has been arrested on charges of high treason; the FSB claims he is linked to Ukrainian call centers
A 26-year-old resident of Magas has become the subject of a criminal case involving high treason. According to the FSB, he collaborated with representatives of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (GUR) and maintained the operation of SIM-box equipment used by Ukrainian fraudulent call centers.
The security service alleges that, in exchange for payment, the man managed equipment that routed telephone traffic within Russia. The FSB believes this facilitated not only telephone fraud but also—according to the agency—"reconnaissance, subversive, and sabotage activities."
The agency released a video of the arrest. In the footage, the man states that he was offered a job paying $580 a week and agreed to take it. A court has remanded him in custody for two months.
This is not the first such incident in Ingushetia. In the spring, the FSB announced the detention of three local residents accused of setting up a communications hub for a Ukrainian fraudulent call center. Investigators allege that approximately 1.3 million rubles were stolen through this system.
In recent years, law enforcement agencies have regularly reported the detention of Ingushetia residents in cases involving terrorism, extremism, and high treason. In a number of these cases, the accused individuals' relatives and lawyers have alleged the fabrication of evidence and the use of torture.
