Shareholders demand to hold the managers of the Credit Cooperative "Deed and Money" criminally liable.

      While the investigation is looking into the management of the cooperative "Deal and Money," the shareholders are increasingly paying attention to those who directly worked with them in the offices — the managers and cashiers. In the chat of the victims in the MAX messenger, where more than 3,000 participants are already members, their possible involvement in the fraud is actively discussed.

      "They offered to re-register at 28%"

      According to the shareholders, many managers continued to assure clients of the reliability of the cooperative and offered new deposits just a few days before the offices closed.

      One of the victims shared in the chat: "They invited me to re-register the contract for a higher percentage. I fell for it. I ordered to withdraw and was supposed to withdraw 21% at the end of June, but they offered 28% and I re-registered on July 6. It's frustrating that I believed in the prospects of this company."

      Another shareholder reported that she brought money on July 22, and brought her husband on July 30: "There was a man in front of us demanding his money back. I had no idea about their problems. I asked the manager why the man was angry, and she replied that he wanted to withdraw his savings early." She noted that the managers called and persistently offered to invest money at 28% per annum.

      Many shareholders point out that as early as spring, some offices began changing their signs — from "Deal and Money" to other names (cooperative "Volga-Vyatka," "Active Finance"). At the same time, the managers explained this as "formalities" or "business separation."

      "Subordinate people" or accomplices?

      Opinions in the chat are divided. Some believe that the managers are just as much victims of the deception as the shareholders and urge not to take out their anger on them.

      "What do the managers have to do with it? They are subordinate people," wrote one participant.

      Others insist otherwise. They note that the managers who worked with the documents could not have been unaware of the problems: contracts were concluded with different legal entities, stamps were "half-assed," signatures were forged, and employees were fired on Friday, August 7, a day before the closure.

      "If you manage to read this chat from the beginning, you will change your opinion," replied one of the shareholders.

      According to the victims, the offices had a television playing at full volume to drown out conversations, and the managers themselves behaved nervously, which, as it now seems, revealed their awareness.

      Managers threaten shareholders

      The behavior of some managers after the collapse caused separate outrage among the shareholders. When the victims began posting photos of employees on social media and in chats, allegedly aware of the problems, some managers, according to chat participants, began to threaten them.

      One participant recounted: "When you post her photo, she then writes to you privately and threatens that you have no right to do that and that she will file a complaint against whoever published it."

      Others confirmed: managers indeed sit in the victims' chat and monitor the posts. Shareholders note that employees threaten with lawsuits, but at the same time, in their opinion, forget about the criminal liability that may threaten them.

      What the law says

      Under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud), not only the leaders but also ordinary employees can be held accountable if the investigation proves their direct intent and involvement in the criminal scheme. The only question is whether the managers knew that the cooperative would not be able to return the money and whether they acted according to the management's instructions or deliberately misled clients.

      There are calls in the chat to include the names of the managers in police reports so that the investigation can check their involvement. Some victims have already stated that they intend to file separate complaints against the managers.