Russia: Criminals Coerce Men Into Signing Military Contracts

In Russia, authorities have detained an ethnic criminal group accused of forcing men to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, then seizing their military service payments.

According to regional Russian media, police in the Tver region apprehended four members of a Romani organized crime group. The group allegedly tracked down military-aged men and, under threats to them and their families, coerced them into enlisting in the Russian army.

The victims were held in remote locations, falsely accused of crimes they hadn’t committed, subjected to physical abuse, given alcohol, and cut off from contact with their families.

After the paperwork was completed, the perpetrators confiscated the victims’ bank cards and stole their payments for participating in the war against Ukraine. In total, the criminal group embezzled over RUB 4 million.

This amount roughly equals two contracts, as of mid-2025, when a Russian contract soldier in the region receives a one-time payment of RUB 2.4 million – 2 million from the regional government and 400,000 from the federal government.

It is possible that the criminal group operated in close cooperation with the representatives of Russian recruitment agencies, who “turned a blind eye” to the conditions under which the contracts were signed and helped facilitate the disbursement of financial payments.

Forced Mobilization in Russia

In September 2023, the Russian outlet Meduza reported that Russian law enforcement had regularly conducted raids at workplaces employing migrants. Their primary targets were men who had recently acquired Russian citizenship but had not registered for military service. These men were forcibly taken to military enlistment offices to be issued draft notices.

For instance, on September 16, 2024, investigators from the Investigative Committee’s offices in Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Republic of Khakassia carried out a raid at markets in Krasnoyarsk.

“During the raid, 520 individuals were brought to the police department, including 417 foreign nationals – each of whom was checked through the information database. Investigative forensics officers also collected buccal epithelial samples to check for potential links to crimes.

In addition, 92 individuals who had obtained Russian citizenship but failed to register for military service in time were identified. They were issued summonses to report to enlistment offices,” the Investigative Committee reported on its Telegram channel.

It’s worth noting that on September 13, 2024, it became known that 45 Indian citizens had been discharged from the Russian army. They had been illegally forced to enlist and fight on the front lines in Ukraine. The issue of their release was raised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Moscow.

Prior to this, Indian intelligence services uncovered a large human trafficking network. The members of the group were deceitfully recruiting young men to go to Russia, where they were then forced to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defence. According to the investigation, the group – which included three Russian nationals – lured Indian citizens under the pretense of enrolling them in private universities in Russia. However, upon arrival, their passports were confiscated, and they were forcibly sent to military training, followed by deployment to the war in Ukraine.

“It was revealed that after arriving in Russia, the passports of those Indian citizens had been taken or stolen by agents in the country. They were given military training, provided with Russian army uniforms and weapons, and later sent to front-line positions in the combat zone against their will, putting their lives in grave danger,” stated the Central Bureau of Investigation of India.