A Volgograd resident accused of treason has been arrested.
A Volgograd resident has been accused of collaborating with the Ukrainian armed forces and activating SIM cards used to send mass messages about terrorist threats.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that in May, a court found Rostov-on-Don resident Andrei Shilyaev guilty of treason and sentenced him to 21 years in prison. According to investigators and the court, he took and hid explosive devices handed over by a representative of a banned extremist Ukrainian organization.
The FSB and the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) reported the arrest of a Volgograd resident who, according to them, while serving a sentence in a correctional center, was activating SIM cards used to send anonymous messages about terrorist threats and to conduct fraudulent transactions.
"The illegal activity of a Russian citizen, a resident of Volgograd, involved in high treason, has been stopped," TASS quotes the FSB Public Relations Center as saying.
According to the FSB, the detainee had been cooperating with a representative of a unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2023. For a fee, he activated Russian SIM cards and registered e-wallets on them. SIM cards, in particular, were used to send mass messages falsely claiming terrorist attacks were being planned.
"The SIM cards activated by the suspect were used by Ukrainian intelligence agencies to commit fraud, including against close relatives of Russian Armed Forces personnel who had gone missing or been captured," the FSB stated. The agency estimates the total damage at approximately 300 million rubles.
The FSIN press office reported that the man had been serving a forced labor sentence in a correctional center in the Volgograd region since 2023. They clarified that those sentenced to forced labor are allowed to use mobile phones, laptops, and the internet at their own expense, and in some cases, leave the correctional center, Interfax reports.
A criminal case has been opened against the detainee under Article 275 (treason) and Part 3 of Article 207 (deliberately making a false report of an act of terrorism).
“Caucasian Knot” also reported on the sentencing of 49-year-old Alexandra Krasnikova, whom the Krasnodar Regional Court sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of treason.