In Moscow, the former Deputy Minister of Culture of Russia Olga Yarilova was detained. According to TASS, citing a source in law enforcement agencies, she is suspected of being involved in the theft of 200 million rubles in fraud with Pushkin's Cards.
The suspects in this case are Viktor Yakubov, Emil Gurbanov and Ilya Safonov. According to investigators, last year they organized a massive purchase of tickets for non-existent cultural events using fictitious "Pushkin cards" issued by Post Bank JSC, thereby stealing 200 million from the money allocated for the program by the Ministry of Culture. All three have been in jail since January, their property worth 100 million rubles was arrested.
Yarilova served as Deputy Minister from 2018 to September 2022. The Pushkin Card program was launched in September 2021 for young people. Russians aged 14-22 can apply for such a card with a face value of 5,000 rubles through the State Services and use it to buy tickets to theaters, museums and various cultural events.