Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Scientology Churches Raided in Fraud Investigation

Russian security forces have raided the offices of the Church of Scientology in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Thursday in connection with an investigation into defrauded homebuyers.

Investigators believe the church may have transferred around 3 billion rubles to its U.S. headquarters in recent years, according to the state-run TASS news agency. The funds were raised during seminars and training sessions held without a license, with an estimated 3-4 million rubles ($45,000-61,000) being raised per week in St. Petersburg, Leningrad region’s FSB press service was cited as saying.

The press service on Friday published a video of the raids.

“Early indications say more than 400 co-investors were defrauded out of around 800 million rubles [$12.3 million],” Interfax quoted St. Petersburg and Leningrad region police as saying.

Investigators opened the St. Petersburg defrauded homebuyers case in June 2017.

A St. Petersburg court sentenced the chairwoman of several housing cooperatives last year to 8.5 years behind bars for donating more than 160 million rubles to the Scientology church in Moscow.

The security services accused the Church of extremism, inciting hatred, and operating an illegal business when raiding its office in St. Petersburg in 2017. The Church of Scientology headquarters in St. Petersburg was also raided in March 2018 and June 2016.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more