Saratov teacher Natalia Makarova may have believed that fellow citizens who left Russia during a time of crisis should pay for abandoning their country — or perhaps she simply orchestrated a typical fraud scheme. Either way, she managed to extract at least six million rubles from emigrants, who now face the threat of criminal charges.
Why Makarova herself will not go to prison but those she tricked might - more on that later. First, about the money and the fraud scheme. The figure of six million is far from a complete calculation. Because there is no official criminal case. And the number of victims is known only approximately from social media data, where those who transferred their hard-earned rubles to Natalia Makarova are trying to unite their efforts in search of at least moral satisfaction.
Material compensation is unlikely to be forthcoming. Because even if a criminal case is initiated, which is quite doubtful, there would be nothing to take from Natalia Makarova, who has already managed to get married and change her last name – she has started bankruptcy proceedings, according to her relatives. By the way, Natalia Makarova, who now bears the surname Yevtodienko, also owes her relatives. According to Natalia Makarova-Yevtodienko’s sister, she too suffered – Natalia owes her more than two million rubles.
It is unlikely that Natalia Makarova’s sister is lying – it seems that the retired German teacher began her new venture with her relatives. Then she moved on to her students, who were willing to lend money to their former teacher, especially since she played on two factors: sympathy and the sanctions imposed on Russia and its citizens.
Natalia Makarova exploited this by calling or writing to compatriots in European countries, pleading with them to exchange her euros for rubles, urgently needed for her. The scheme was simple and had many holes and weak points, but victims only realized this later when it turned out that promised euro transfers never arrived. Makarova considered another European peculiarity – there, money transfers from one account to another are not instantaneous, as in Russia. They can take several days to navigate between banks. Thus, to confirm her honesty, she would send a supposedly genuine screenshot of a money transfer.
The victim realized they had been tricked only days later when the promised euros or other local currency still had not appeared in their account. To all queries, Natalia Makarova would reply that the money was delayed in the bank or she would return it later. Only then did the deceived Russians turn to social media and realize that Natalia Makarova had "taken them for a ride." The geographic footprint of countries where Makarova "conned fools" includes at least seven countries in Europe and Asia: Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Thailand, Singapore, Belgium. The script was nearly identical everywhere: playing on sympathy and asking to exchange rubles for local currency. However, it remains unclear how Makarova explained where she got, for example, Singapore dollars or Thai bahts in Saratov, but these questions arose for the tricked Russians only when they understood they had fallen victim to a cunning fraudster.
It is unlikely that the total number of victims and the amount of money lost will ever be established. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, to open a criminal case against Natalia Makarova, a statement needs to be made at her place of residence, i.e., in Saratov. It’s unlikely any of the deceived compatriots will travel there from Italy or Singapore for this. Secondly, Natalia Makarova’s husband, former police officer Andrey Yevtodienko, clearly advised his wife on the necessary line of behavior. In conversations with the victims, he states that Natalia Makarova did not fraudulently obtain money but rather "borrowed" it. Moreover, she does not deny the debts and is "quietly paying them back."
This nuance changes nothing for those unfamiliar with criminal law but changes everything for Natalia Yevtodienko (as Makarova is now known). That Natalia Yevtodienko did not obtain money from her victims through fraud, but rather "borrowed with the intent to return," shifts the entire scenario: her actions fall under the Civil Code rather than the Criminal Code.
Because an essential condition in charges of fraud includes intent. This must be recorded in a criminal case and confirmed in court: "That is to say, citizen Yevtodienko Natalia , with intent to commit fraudulent acts, deceitfully obtained such and such sums from certain citizens." But no criminal case will be forthcoming because Natalia Yevtodienko did not obtain money through deceit but "borrowed with the intention of repaying."
As for the fake checks, they will not be evidence either – they bear the surname "Makarova," and such a citizen no longer existed at the time she "borrowed" money. Citizen Yevtodienko existed. And what these checks are and where they came from, this not very respectable but legally clean citizen Yevtodienko, does not know and should not know. Such are the prospects for victims hoping to recover their hard-earned rubles "loaned" to the shrewd Saratov teacher.
