"Dolina Effect" Worked In Baranovichi

• 13.01.2026, 9:40

The pensioner sold the apartment, gave the money to the crooks, and now does not want to be evicted.

A pensioner in Baranovichi succumbed to the tricks of swindlers, sold her apartment, gave the swindlers all the money, and when she realized that she had fallen victim to the intruders, she refused to move out of her apartment. Baranavichy state newspaper "Nash Krai" told the story.

Treshka in the center

It all started with a desire to buy an apartment in the city center. Two years ago Svetlana moved her business to Baranovichi, but she lived outside the city. The decision to move closer to work had been brewing for a long time.

- It was my birthday in September, and, you could say, it was a gift from my husband. We had some money for the apartment, and the rest we took out a loan.

The purchase was important for the future of the family: the children are grown up now, and we had to think about additional housing. We were looking only for the center, a two-bedroom apartment. For Svetlana and her husband it was the first real estate transaction in their lives, except for the purchase of a cottage.

- We found the option on "Kufar". We called, the realtor answered. That's how it all started," she says.

"I was charmed by this woman"

The first impression was perfect: in the apartment they were met by the owner herself - a pensioner, her adult son and the realtor.

- Quite smiling, positive, educated woman, I was charmed by her. I even noticed the impressive library, I always notice details," Svetlana said. - The conversation was open, I had no doubts about the adequacy of her actions or intentions.

The woman explained the sale simply: her husband died a long time ago, one in a two-bedroom apartment is difficult to stretch, you need to move. Where to - to her son in Baranovichi or to her daughter in Minsk - she hasn't decided yet. She asked for 12 days after the transaction to pack her things in peace.

- Neither then, nor now, remembering what happened, I do not see a single alarm bell of a fraudulent scheme, - explained Svetlana. - So accommodating and open was the saleswoman. She did not rush the sale, objectively explained her motives.

Even a small discount from the original price, which made the seller, then seemed like a gesture of goodwill. Svetlana later learned that she was the eighth or ninth person to be shown this apartment.

- I wasn't in a hurry either. We signed a contract with a designer to make the future apartment "for myself", and I made a deposit only after her approval.

The deal was scheduled for Friday, October 3.

Cash Only

The settlement took place in a notary's office. The seller insisted on cash.

- We offered her a transfer to an account. She immediately refused, she said "we need cash". Which is also understandable, sellers often prefer cash.

Besides the notary, there was a realtor, the seller with her son and Svetlana with her daughter. The money was counted and the documents were drawn up. Under the contract, the seller had 12 days, until October 15, to check out and vacate the apartment. It seemed that the deed was done. The renovation was just around the corner.

"Svetlana, did anyone call you from Minsk?"

Three days later, on Monday, there was a call. The saleswoman's voice trembled.

- She called me personally and asked: "Svetlana, has anyone called you from Minsk?". I didn't understand this question right away. From the fragments of her phrases I began to understand - something bad had happened. She was somehow left without money and without an apartment. I began to ask questions, but the answer was again fragments of phrases and sighs.

Svetlana advised her to go to the police. In the evening of the same day, the saleswoman's daughter called.

- The daughter said that mom is in the police. She started asking me to give up the apartment. She started saying that everything would be returned. I met the seller's daughter in person the next day. Then I found out that their mother was "caught in a fraudulent scheme".

They offered to return the money for the apartment, but I was not ready to agree immediately, I had to understand the situation myself. I was very confused, but in response I heard an ultimatum: "Mom will not be evicted. And you will not move in - the apartment has been arrested in a criminal case."

Fear, confusion and the first decision

Svetlana describes her first reaction as a mixture of fear, panic and complete incomprehension of what is happening.

- I have not been in such situations. But I realized that it was necessary to act. With a lawyer I know, we drafted a pre-trial complaint demanding eviction within the specified time frame, but we were refused. Then my husband and I hired a lawyer and filed a lawsuit in court for eviction.

The lawyer immediately explained to Svetlana that this is a classic fraudulent scheme, but according to his practice, the case can be won. He immediately warned that the process may take time if the other side will challenge and demand an expert examination that at the time of the transaction she was under the influence of fraudsters.

"Replace the chip from the intercom"

The first court hearing revealed a monstrous and, alas, typical picture. The saleswoman and her son described in detail how they fell into the clutches of fraudsters. The first call was an offer to replace the intercom chip, and the seller's son gave the fraudsters some information about the apartment. The seller suspected something wrong, but in the evening she received a call from a man who introduced himself as a KGB officer. He said that the call about the chips was a trick, and, according to their data, now "black" realtors are preparing to illegally sell their apartment with forged documents. In order to "save" the apartment, they had to act according to the instructions of the "special service": to urgently put the apartment for sale through a real agency, and to take the money received to Minsk for "verification in the National Bank. After this "check" the deal would allegedly be recognized invalid, the money would be returned to the buyer, and the apartment would be returned to the legal owner.

And they believed. The question of how the swindlers managed to freeze the heads of two adults at once - the landlady and her son, remains open. But the fact remains that the next day after receiving money from Svetlana, the saleswoman personally took the entire sum to Minsk and gave it to the "courier" - a woman of advanced age. Her son knew about everything and also helped to "save the house".

"The Dolina Effect" in Belarusian

It is here that Svetlana's story could have followed the infamous Russian scenario, where such disputes last for years, and buyers cannot move into the purchased housing for years. However, Belarusian law enforcement turned out to be different.

- I asked for advice to a Minsk lawyer, who is well aware of the so-called "Dolina effect". Her answer cheered me up. It turned out that the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus has clear instructions on how to act in such situations. Namely: if the transaction was bona fide, clean, without any nuances, conducted in Belarusian rubles with payment of the full amount, the law is on the side of the buyer. And what the seller does with the received money does not concern the buyer.

The lawyer explained that in Belarus, the court considers the subject of fraud not the apartment, but the money. The apartment is sold clean - it means that it is the property of the buyer. The victim can sue for the return of his money, but not the apartment.

The earlier scare Svetlana was given - the arrest of the apartment in a criminal case - is not used in practice in such cases. This seriously strengthened her position in court.

Recognizing what had happened, the other side went for a settlement agreement. At the second session, they offered to return not only the full value of the apartment, but also all of Svetlana's related expenses.

- The amicable settlement of the dispute was that they were willing to bring absolutely all the losses. Lawyer, lawsuit in court, filing of state fees, interest to the bank on the loan we are paying. Even the burned down down payment to the designer. They were ready to reimburse everything... And they returned absolutely everything.

The money was collected within two weeks, and on December 15 the parties met again at the notary's office to draw up a reverse sale. That same day, Svetlana checked out of the apartment that never became her home. The whole process from the purchase to the return of the money took a little over two months.

No anger, no offense

In the course of the interview Svetlana repeatedly reiterated that she does not dislike the seller.

- I sincerely feel sorry for this woman, she is my mother's age, I understand what a shock it is for her. I hold no grudge or resentment against her. And I'm very worried about her. But I also learned a lesson to be careful. Now I do not give personal information even to acquaintances when talking on the phone. In general, I try to solve any questions in person in official places, not on the phone.

But this experience did not break her and did not make her give up the search for housing.

- Today I am making a deal to buy a new apartment. And even if I face the same situation, I already know very well how to behave and that the law is on the side of a bona fide buyer. And to go to court with this position I am not afraid, even if I am cheated a second time.

"The Dolina Effect"

We recall that the Supreme Court of Russia on December 16 put an end to the consideration of the case of the apartment Larisa Dolina in the center of Moscow, the transaction on the sale of which to businesswoman Paulina Lurie was previously canceled by lower courts. According to the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the right of ownership remains with Lurie, and Dolina illegally resides in the apartment and must leave it. The issue of forced eviction of the singer and her family is to be considered by the Moscow City Court.

The "Dolina effect" was previously widely publicized in social networks. It all started after the singer gave more than 300 million Russian rubles (over $3 million) to phone scammers in 2024 - including money from the sale of a five-room apartment in Moscow. Realizing that she had been duped, Dolina went to court and won. As a result, the apartment was returned to her. And the buyer, who was left without an apartment, was offered to try to take the money from the fraudsters.

Russians were outraged by Dolina's act, which left the buyer of her apartment both without housing and without money. The audience began to surrender tickets to the artist's concerts en masse.