To cover the tracks of his wife — the pensioner explained why he set fire to ATMs in St. Petersburg

Kolpinsky pensioner set fire to ATMs in St. Petersburg to help his wife cover her tracks after transferring funds to a "secure account," writes Banksta.

A 70-year-old man acted on the instructions of Ukrainian fraudsters. It was not he who initially got on the hook of the scammers, but his wife. The arsonist's daughter Anna Kuznetsova reported that it all started on December 18. The woman was called allegedly from the hospital and offered to undergo fluorography. She agreed and dictated the SNILS to make an appointment. At the other end of the wire, the Petersburger was informed: according to the SNILS, it was possible to find out that the bank has a power of attorney on her behalf to withdraw money. And in order to "save" savings, they need to be transferred to a "safe account". On the same day, the woman withdrew 145 thousand rubles, she was not allowed to cash out the rest — bank employees suspected fraud. As a result, she returned on December 20 and withdrew another 500 thousand. The woman transferred the entire amount to the specified details.

After that, the scammers told the victim that she needed to "cover the tracks" of the transfer of funds — to burn the ATM. The woman flatly refused, then the criminals turned to her husband. He decided to help out his wife and agreed to complete the task. Immediately after the arson, the man's youngest daughter received a message that her father was allegedly taken 50 km from St. Petersburg. For information about his location, they demanded a nude photo.

This is not the first time a pensioner has become a victim of fraudsters. Two years ago, 2.5 million rubles were stolen from him. A criminal case of a terrorist attack has been opened on the fact of arson. The pensioner is in a detention center.