Housing fact: the fraud trial against Larisa Dolina has begun

On November 10, the Moscow Region court began considering the merits of the criminal case on the scam involving the apartment of People's Artist Larisa Dolina only on the fifth attempt. The meetings will be held behind closed doors — the singer's lawyer reported threats against her client. There are four people in the dock. According to investigators, in 2024, the attackers stole 175.1 million rubles from the singer, depriving her, among other things, of her apartment in Moscow. However, the singer returned the ownership through the court. The details of the case are in the Izvestia article.

Who is being tried in the Larisa Dolina case

The first hearing of the criminal case on Larisa Dolina's apartment theft took place in the Balashikha Court of the Moscow region. There are four defendants in the dock who are accused of fraud as part of an organized group and on an especially large scale — Artur Kamenetsky, Dmitry Leontiev, Andrey Osnovy and Angela Tsyrulnikova.

According to investigators, in 2024, Larisa Dolina received a call from Leontiev, who introduced himself as a security official and, under the pretext of saving money, persuaded the singer to transfer her funds to "safe" bank accounts. He also convinced the actress to sell a five-room apartment in the center of Moscow, which, according to him, could have gone to fraudsters, and transfer the money to the specified accounts.

In addition, Leontiev, according to the investigation, purchased communications equipment and SIM cards for communication between gang members and informed accomplices about bank cards controlled by him, which he used to receive stolen money.

53-year-old Angela Tsyrulnikova (an employee of one of the capital's libraries, she is accused of three more similar crimes), according to the investigation, at the request of fraudsters personally met with Larisa Dolina and took away her bag, which contained the bulk of the funds for the sold apartment.

A number of other people were also involved in the fraudulent scheme. Among them are Andrey Osnovy, a resident of Tolyatti, and Artur Kamenetsky, a native of Kazan. According to investigators, they acted as droppers — they owned bank cards with which the alleged fraudsters carried out transactions.

Dmitry Leontiev, Andrey Osnovy and Angela Tsyrulnikova pleaded not guilty. Abaz Abdulkadyrov, the lawyer of Artur Kamenetsky, told Izvestia that his client partially admits guilt — only for cashing out funds. Andrey Osnovy's lawyer, Asim Alyev, said that his client did not admit guilt, he was an accidental victim of circumstances.

— Anyone can find themselves in such a situation, especially any young guy who does not live in the Central part of Russia and who has financial instability. There are many such cases of people being used now," the defender told Izvestia.

The court had previously postponed the hearing four times due to the non-appearance of the participants in the trial, in addition, the defendants in the case were not brought to the courtroom. The reason for the situation was not disclosed.

Why was the process closed?

As the Izvestia correspondent reported from the courtroom, the corresponding petition was filed by Larisa Dolina's lawyer Ksenia Aparina. She explained that she and her client had received threats.

— Death threats have been made against Larisa Dolina and me. Unknown persons threatened to blow up the car if the criminal prosecution was not stopped," said a representative of the artist. — In addition, the attackers named non-disclosure of certain state secrets among the conditions.

The defense declined to elaborate on what kind of information was meant while the meeting was open. In connection with these circumstances, Larisa Dolina and her lawyer were recognized as victims in another separate criminal case on threats. The identity of the men has not been established.

The lawyers of the accused objected to the satisfaction of the petition.

It is not uncommon for a trial to be held behind closed doors, a lawyer for the branch of the First Moscow Regional Bar Association (MOCA) told Izvestia Yuri Levin. The legislation, he said, clearly defines in which cases it is necessary. In particular, if the interests of ensuring the safety of the participants in the proceedings or their relatives require it.

— In the case of the Larisa Dolina case, this is exactly the option. However, it can be assumed that in reality the court could be guided not so much by the interests of real security as by its own comfort and the comfort of the Valley during the hearings, cutting off journalists, fans and ordinary listeners in a closed process," the lawyer noted.

What about Larisa Dolina's apartment

At the same time, the courts are also considering a civil dispute over the return of rights to Larisa Dolina's apartment and a counterclaim by the new owner of the apartment, 34—year-old single mother Polina Lurie.

In March, the Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow ruled in favor of the singer and returned her rights to the apartment, but the buyer's counterclaim was refused. In September 2025, the Moscow City Court upheld the decision of the first instance. A hearing in cassation is now expected.

According to the position of the courts of first instance, the purchase and sale agreement is invalid, as it was concluded in a state of delusion: Larisa Dolina was influenced by scammers who convinced her to make a deal and only after a while she realized that she had become a victim of deception.

After this case, the judicial authorities began to actively side with former homeowners who were allegedly deceived by fraudsters, lawyers interviewed by Izvestia said and called the situation a dangerous trend — a bias in protecting victims of fraud and ignoring the rights of bona fide purchasers.

"Such cases are a direct consequence of the epidemic of telephone fraud, when elderly people are forced to sell their homes under psychological pressure," said Albert Khaleyan, a criminal lawyer and partner at the Vector Prime Moscow Bar Association. — The law stands up for the side whose will has been broken by deception or threats. A transaction made under the influence of deception is considered invalid. If the court finds that the owner did not act freely, the apartment will be returned to him, even if the buyer was in good faith.

According to the court's decision, as the lawyer adds, who declared the transaction invalid, the seller (in this case, the victim of fraud) is obliged to return the money paid for the apartment to the buyer. The problem is that this seller, as a rule, no longer has this money — it was taken by scammers. Foreclosure is levied on his property. If it is not available, then it is extremely difficult to return the funds. The buyer, in fact, finds himself in the creditors' queue along with the victim himself, whose savings are also stolen.

The bankruptcy of the "victims of fraudsters," as Alexey Gavrishev, lawyer and managing partner of AVG Legal, adds, solves nothing: the buyer loses the apartment, the money freezes, and the scammers go abroad. Lawsuits drag on for years, and even if the buyer wins, there is often no real compensation — the scammers have already withdrawn everything, and the "seller" is bankrupt.

"Russian law, especially after the Larisa Dolina case, is moving towards maximum protection for fraud victims, even if their actions have formally caused damage to third parties," the lawyer believes.

This is a humane but extremely dangerous trend, Alexey Gavrishev added.

— As a result, a conscientious buyer suffers. The problem is that the law does not provide for a full—fledged mechanism to protect the buyer if the seller is recognized as a victim of deception," he said.

How to protect yourself from housing loss

The only way to protect yourself, experts say, is to check the seller not according to documents, but according to the circumstances of the transaction.

— Ideally, the state should follow the path of an insurance model, as in the West: title insurance, property insurance, covers the risk of loss of housing due to invalidation of the transaction. Until such a mechanism has become widespread in our country, a bona fide buyer remains virtually unprotected," said Alexey Gavrishev.

Vladimir Kuznetsov, chairman of the All-Russian Trade Union of Mediators, also said that the Dolina case had certainly become a landmark dispute that could serve as a signal for the intensification of litigation against real estate transactions carried out under the influence of fraudsters.

— For the formation of a full—fledged precedent and a wave of lawsuits, stable judicial practice or a guiding explanation from the Supreme Court is needed, - said the head of the trade union.

This case has already caused serious concern in the real estate market, as it has called into question the inviolability of the property rights of bona fide buyers, the expert concluded.