Russian Recruiters Exploit Foreign Mercenaries - Nigerian Fighter's Messages Reveal Double Scam

Russian military recruiters are running a double-billing scheme that extracts money from both the Kremlin and the foreign fighters they lure to die in Ukraine, according to evidence recovered from a battlefield.

A mobile phone belonging to Chukwuebuka Joseph, a Nigerian citizen born October 25, 1994, who is believed to have been killed fighting for russia, was retrieved from the combat zone. The device contained messages showing Joseph desperately trying to recover hundreds of dollars he had spent on tickets and a visa - expenses his recruiter had promised to reimburse. Predictably, no one planned to return his money.

The same recruiter pressed the Nigerian to "bring friends" - recommend others for contracts - in exchange for "bonus payments." But the real money lies elsewhere.

Some recruiters profit twice: once from payments the Russian Ministry of Defense pays them for each foreigner they sign up, and again from the foreigners themselves. Many of those recruited for rapid death in Ukraine actually pay their recruiters for the privilege.

Foreigners sign agreements with registered Russian legal entities through which recruiters provide "services" to help them sign contracts with russia's Ministry of Defense. For this "work," they charge foreigners 1.5 million rubles - the exact amount of the one-time payment russia's Ministry of Defense gives foreigners for signing a contract. Only later do the foreigners realize these "services" are essentially fraud and that it makes no sense to pay extra to get sent to war.

Based on the messages, Joseph's recruitment went through one such russian legal entity - a purported law firm called "Otvet" (Answer) registered in Rostov-on-Don. Of course, no actual law firm exists - it's just a sole proprietorship with a bank account to receive money from both the russian Ministry of Defense and the recruited.

We warn foreign citizens against trips to Russia. 

Source: I Want to Live Telegram Channel