Russian citizen released from fraudulent call center in Myanmar

A Russian citizen was released from a fraudulent call center in Myanmar. This was announced on April 28 by the Russian Embassy in Myanmar.

"Following the joint work of the staff of the Russian Embassy in Myanmar, representatives of the Russian Interior Ministry in Vietnam (accredited in Myanmar and Laos), as well as Myanmar law enforcement agencies, on April 20, a Russian citizen who became a victim of Internet scams operating in the countries of Indochina was released," the embassy said in a statement on the Telegram channel of the department.

According to diplomats, in early April, a Russian woman arrived in Yangon for employment and was taken by unidentified persons to the Myawadi region bordering Thailand, where she was offered a job at one of the fraudulent call centers.

She refused to participate in criminal activities and appealed to the Russian Interior Ministry. Thanks to the timely statement of the woman, law enforcement officers managed to quickly release her and another Russian citizen from a similar call center in the region.

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On February 3, the Russian Embassy in Thailand announced the release of a Russian woman from a fraudulent call center in Myanmar through the joint efforts of diplomats, Thai and Myanmar police. According to the diplomatic mission, there is a criminal network operating in Myanmar that recruits foreign citizens, including Russian citizens, for alleged employment in Thailand.

Prior to that, the Russian Embassy reported that three Russians had been abducted in Myanmar, presumably for forced labor in fraudulent call centers.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in turn, said that diplomats are doing everything possible and necessary to return the abducted Russians from Myanmar. According to her, Russian diplomats have already managed, in cooperation with Myanmar's law enforcement agencies, to rescue one Russian citizen from such a center and return her to her homeland.