The Investigative Committee of Russia (TFR) has completed an investigation into the criminal case of the so-called ticket mafia, the organizers of a network of fraudulent sales of tickets to leading Russian theaters, which became known on Monday, January 31.
“According to the investigation, businessmen Andrei Khartanyuk and Alexei Kurinov, having created a ticket sales company several years ago, eventually turned it into the center of the largest network on the Internet, which used twin sites of the most popular theaters, including the Mariinsky, Bolshoy and Maly, RAMT, as well as the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, ”Kommersant reports.
More than two dozen firms worked at the final stage of sales: among them are call centers in Moscow and Vladimir, involved programmers, designers and advertising specialists. The office of pseudo ticket sellers was located at 19 Petrovka Street in Moscow.
The investigation was conducted for almost two years, and began with an appeal from representatives of the Mariinsky Theatre. They discovered that tickets for performances are being sold through clones of the official website.
The criminal scheme, as investigators found out, was banal. Designers created several clone sites with the same names of cultural institutions. After the registration and launch of the sites, advertising was adjusted so that when users inquire about buying tickets, it was “twins” that appeared first in search engines.
“The total turnover of the network, according to law enforcement officers, amounted to more than a billion rubles. And they paid attention to illegal immigrants after buyers began to contact the theaters directly, either who had not received already paid tickets, or were outraged by exorbitant prices, ”the publication clarifies.
The leaders of the “ticket mafia” were detained, with the exception of Andrei Khartanyuk, who fled with his mother. Both of them were arrested in absentia and put on the international wanted list. Charges were brought against those arrested in the case, and some dispute them and plead not guilty. Among the victims are not only theaters, but also deceived buyers who paid for tickets they did not receive. It is known that the Mariinsky Theater intends to file a lawsuit to recover 50 million rubles from swindlers.
In December 2021, speculative schemes of resellers of tickets to the Bolshoi Theater were revealed. Initially, the theater allocates a certain number of seats for employees of numerous theater-friendly organizations. However, according to an investigation by REN TV, guests often refuse the seats intended for them, but these tickets do not go on sale – at the box office or on the website – but go to resellers who already have the personal data of those who are ready to “buy a ticket for any money in the New Year’s miracle.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
