Return mechanism: the court returned the apartment seized by fraudsters to the Valley

On March 28, the Khamovniki District Court of Moscow ruled in favor of Larisa Dolina in the case of her Moscow apartment. In August 2024, the People's Artist became a victim of fraud and sold her property for 112 million rubles. In total, the Valley lost about 180 million. If the buyer of the apartment is not involved in the fraudulent scheme, the court will oblige the singer to pay her compensation in the amount of the cost of the apartment, experts believe. But if she is an unscrupulous buyer, then the singer will not have to pay her money. Details of the court proceedings can be found in the Izvestia article.

Why did Larisa Dolina get her apartment back?

The five-room apartment in the center of Moscow, which Larisa Dolina sold in the summer of 2024 under the influence of fraudsters, was returned to the singer. This decision was made on March 28 by the Khamovnichesky district court of the capital.

Then the attackers convinced the People's Artist of Russia to sell her home for 112 million rubles at a market value at least one and a half times higher, and transfer the proceeds to a so-called secure account. According to the Interior Ministry, the criminals called Larisa Dolina and introduced themselves as law enforcement officers.

They convinced the victim that fraudulent actions were being committed with her apartment, and she should "urgently prevent them." In order to secure the property, the singer should have urgently sold the apartment and transferred the money to a "secure account." This was the only way she could allegedly save both the money and the apartment, as well as help law enforcement officers catch fraudsters. The actress sold her home for 112 million rubles, after which she added her own savings and gave them to the criminals — as a result, the singer lost 180 million rubles.

After this incident, a criminal case was opened on fraud and the apartment sold by the singer was seized. Several defendants were detained in the case, in particular, the courier who took cash from Larisa Dolina.

The daughter of the top manager of the IT holding, Polina Lurie, became the buyer of luxury real estate. However, Larisa Dolina refused to hand over the keys to the new owners and on August 19, 2024, she sued the new owner of the apartment. And ten days later, she filed a lawsuit against the singer. The People's Artist in the lawsuit demanded to challenge the "alienation deal" of the apartment. The justification says that the sale of the apartment was "influenced by a misconception on the part of third parties."

Polina Lurie, in a counterclaim, demanded that the singer be evicted from her apartment in Khamovniki, trying to prove to the court that she was a bona fide buyer.

— We didn't win the trial. But we plan to file an appeal," Svetlana Sviridenko, Polina Lurie's lawyer, told Izvestia.

The defendant's ownership of the disputed property has been terminated and recognized by Larisa Dolina, the court's press service reported. "Polina Lurie's counterclaims for eviction were denied by a court decision," they said.

Maria Pukhova, Dolina's lawyer, declined to comment.

Will Polina Lurie be able to return the money

The buyer has the right to appeal the court's decision and demand a refund of the money she paid when buying the apartment, said lawyer Vitaly Ulianenko.

In January 2025, the court recovered more than 69 million rubles in favor of Larisa Dolina in the criminal case of fraud with the singer's apartment. Dolina ordered the owners of the bank accounts that received the funds stolen by the fraudsters to return this amount.

In the situation that happened to Larisa Dolina, contacting a notary for advice and direct execution of the transaction could have saved the victim, the Federal Notary Chamber (FNP) explained to Izvestia.

— A notary will not certify any document until he is sure that the person does not make a decision to conclude a transaction under pressure, — they noted.

Paying for an apartment through an escrow account would save the buyer and seller from trouble, the FNP added. When making a payment in this way, the real estate seller receives funds when ownership is transferred and other circumstances occur that are prescribed in advance in the contract. For example, the actual transfer of keys or the de-registration of everyone who is registered in the apartment.

Larisa Dolina is obliged to return Polina Lurie's apartment funds if she is not a participant in the fraudulent scheme, lawyer Mikhail Reprintsev believes.

— If Polina Lurie bought a house in good faith, and the court declared the sale and purchase transaction invalid, then restitution may occur - each of the parties must return everything received under the transaction to the other party, — he said.

According to the expert, if the people's Artist is unable to pay the amount requested by the buyer of the apartment, the bailiffs can seize her accounts and property. The seizure of the apartment to pay off the debt is hardly possible, the lawyer added.

However, theoretically, Polina Lurie may be an unscrupulous buyer, believes Mikhail Tatarenok, a lawyer from Tatarenok and Partners. In this case, according to him, the Valley is not obligated to return the money to the woman.

— If there is evidence of Pauline Lurie's involvement in the fraudulent scheme, the injured party is reinstated without the obligation to compensate the funds. The scammers are responsible for the refund, not Larisa Dolina," he said.

If the singer is required to pay compensation, but there is not enough money to pay it, then by court order she will be able to pay it in installments, the expert added. Also, according to him, it is possible to pay money to Polina Lurie at the expense of fraudsters after the verdict is announced.