In a Spanish resort town, police have arrested Russian mothers and daughters on charges of fraud and threatening Ukrainian refugees. The accomplices extorted money from visitors for the accelerated procedure of registration of documents and acquisition of legal status in Spain. According to currently available evidence, the fraudsters “misappropriated” about 5,000 euros.
According to Schengen visa info, citing a press release from the Spanish Interior Ministry, the women approached Ukrainian citizens as they stood in line at police stations in Alicante and offered to speed up paperwork in exchange for cash. To make the legend believable, the partners told Ukrainians working in the police.
The prices for Russian women were as follows: they asked for 250 euros in cash for an adult and 150 euros for a child. Let us explain that in order to be able to live legally in Spain, refugees who have arrived from Ukraine must obtain the necessary documents from the police stations.
“The detainees, a Russian-born mother and daughter, searched for their victims in police queues and offered to speed up paperwork in exchange for money… They told Ukrainian citizens working in the police and threatened to revoke their refugee status if their private conversation was revealed.” , – it was said in the statement of the ministry.
The ministry explained that it had launched an investigation into the case as soon as the authorities learned that the two women had repeatedly approached Ukrainians waiting for help at the Alicante National Police.
“The arrested women, who for many years had been working as official translators through a local company, were well aware of the procedures that had to be followed to obtain the necessary status, which gave more confidence to their scam, and they entered and left the police working with employees”, – also it was spoken in the message of department.
When the affected Ukrainian citizens realized that they had been deceived and demanded their money back, the arrested women threatened to cancel their documents and refuse to issue them with a residence permit in Spain. Threats worked, no refugees filed a complaint. The investigation is still ongoing.