Citizens of Tajikistan have found a new way to obtain Russian citizenship

To do this, they first forged Ukrainian citizenship, then DNR citizenship, and only after that requested to be accepted into Russian citizenship.

According to the press service of the Investigative Committee, investigators from the capital’s Investigative Committee have stopped the activities of a criminal group that organized illegal migration.

 According to the investigation, since 2023, members of the criminal group sought citizens of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and, for a reward of 150,000 to 350,000 rubles, produced fake plastic passports confirming Ukrainian citizenship and fictitious registration certificates for the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR). This allowed foreigners to obtain Russian citizenship through a simplified process.

Currently, nine organizers of the criminal group have been detained. A criminal case has been initiated against them under paragraphs “a” and “b” of part 2 of article 322.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of illegal migration by a group of persons by prior agreement or an organized group; and by a person using their official position).

They face a penalty of up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to five hundred thousand rubles.

The fight against illegal immigrants has once again begun to be actively discussed following the attack on the Moscow region concert hall “Krokus City Hall,” which resulted in the deaths of 145 people and over 550 injured.

In this case, the accused are foreign citizens detained by Russian security forces, mainly from Tajikistan.

As of June 19, following the first stage of the operation “Illegal-2024,” conducted by Russian law enforcement agencies, about 9,000 foreign citizens were deported from Russia, and another 11,000 were denied entry. In addition, about 2,000 criminal cases related to the organization of illegal migration and fictitious migration registration have been initiated.