Russian Officer Appeals to Putin to Drop Fraud Charges Against Scammed Son

A decorated Russian officer has appealed to Vladimir Putin to intervene in the fraud case against his 18-year-old son, saying scammers coerced the teenager into carrying money and valuables. The case matters because the officer and a Kremlin-aligned online safety group say families of soldiers are being targeted, while warning that prosecuting young people drawn into such schemes could fuel public discontent.

Lieutenant Colonel Kirill Suvorov said his son Yegor was arrested in August after his state services account was hacked and scammers persuaded him he was helping an FSB operation. He said the callers threatened Yegor with imprisonment for treason and threatened his own life or a military tribunal; prosecutors say Yegor and unidentified accomplices face up to 10 years in prison, and that procedural violations were identified and addressed. Suvorov claimed more than 1,000 teenagers and students across Russia have become involved in similar cases.