December 24th, local time, “Russia Today” (RT) disclosed a previous theft case in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is comparable to the plot of a “crime movie”.
According to the report, at the end of last year, more than $1 million in cash was stolen from the headquarters of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, and an official was subsequently arrested.
The matter is still under investigation. Russian media took the lead in disclosing some details of the case, and then the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to the media on the 24th that “a large amount of cash had been taken out of the building”.
RT quoted Russian TV’s “REN TV” as saying that the stolen fund was part of the $1.5 million in consular service fees paid by Iran, and cash payment was used because of the sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran’s banking system.
It is said that the funds were first transferred to the Russian ambassador to Iran, which is closely guarded by security personnel 24 hours a day.
Subsequently, the money was sent to the office of Natalia Agaltsova, the chief expert of the finance department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in two bags and a sealed vodka box.
According to Agtsova, she reportedly found something wrong when counting cash. Although each stack of cash had a $100 note, the rest was exchanged for a dollar bill, which was more than $1 million less.
Agtsova also claimed that when she found that there was a problem with the amount of funds, she was very panicked.
She tried to fill the funding gap with the office registry and $200,000 in her name, and even applied for a bank loan, but was rejected.
According to the report of REN TV, Agtesova later wanted to end her life by suicide.
According to reports, Agtsova was initially detained, then placed under house arrest during the investigation, but now her travel has been restricted and cannot leave her area during the investigation.
According to RT, according to the latest information disclosed by the investigation team, the cash “disappeared” from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in broad daylight in three days at the end of 2019.
Investigators said that surveillance videos showed Agtesova had left her office with two packed bags. In addition, a man living with her was also detained, but was subsequently released and asked to be interrogated as a witness.
Although some details of the case are still unclear, REN TV broadcast an interview with the local residents who claimed to be Agtsova’s neighbor.
The resident insisted that Agtsova and her partner had let him look after a locked box, in which investigators later found more than $148,000.
RT said that late December 24th local time, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to the Russian News Agency that a large amount of funds had been taken away from the headquarters building, and the case is currently under legal proceedings.
The report also concluded that in 2019, a Russian government ministerial official was arrested on suspicion of stealing state funds.
At that time, Mikhail Abyzov, the minister and vice chairman of the “Coordinating Committee for Open Government Activities” under the Russian Federation, was involved in a fraud case involving more than $62 million. Now, Abitsov is awaiting trial, and his government office has been removed.
