Indulgent ‘Thief’ Claims He Is ‘Robin Hood’

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: November 28, 2012 (Issue # 1737)

MOSCOW — A bank security guard suspected of stealing 8 million rubles ($260,000) from his place of employment was caught at a Perm region spa, police said in an official statement Monday.

Forty-year-old Andrei Sysoyev was partying in a banya with some “easy” girls at the time of a police raid, Life News reported. He had apparently gone through several million rubles since making off with the cash 10 days earlier.

However, the Investbank employee, whom a surveillance camera recorded leaving his workplace with a sack full of cash, told police he took the money to pay off loans and help his sick parents, likening himself to Robin Hood, the news report said, citing a police source.

The official police statement said Sysoyev had checked in to the spa with a fake passport and was “leading a carefree lifestyle, not considering how much money he spent.”

He later told police that he “wanted to distribute the money to the needy,” the statement said.

News reports cited a police spokesman as saying the suspect paid for chewing gum with a 5,000 ruble ($160) note at a kiosk and said “Keep the change.” He also was especially generous to a taxi driver who later identified him and gave away his hiding place.

When police burst into the room, they had a hard time identifying Sysoyev because he had become “so bloated” over the week and a half since he had gone missing, Newsru.com reported.

A case of grand theft has been opened against Sysoyev.