The devout travel blogger who scammed Russians out of $250 thousand promised to return the money (7 photos)

But it is not exactly. Because new “gypsy tricks” and the sale of intimate details of life “behind the hijab” were used.





Kazan blogger Ilyusa Minnegaleeva made money by selling tours to the UAE for pennies. In her blog, she promised full All inclusive at a low price - a budget ticket for one cost only $300. The first buyers even managed to walk the streets of Dubai. But a few weeks later, people began to complain en masse - before the departure date, they discovered that there were no tickets.



Let us remember that before becoming a popular blogger with 194 thousand subscribers, 29-year-old Ilyusa Minnegaleeva from Tatarstan was a simple girl who took on any job that came her way. I painted portraits to order, made sweets, and filed nails at home. Around 2019, Ilyusa began filming funny videos with her dancing, making jokes on her loved ones, telling her story of accepting excess weight, and then took part in the popular project of the Friday TV channel - “Four Weddings” and woke up famous.





The curvaceous girl and her slender fiancé, and then husband Raushan, were very fond of fans of the show, and with the speed of light, Ilyusa’s Instagram account was filled with new subscribers.

Around October last year, the girl suddenly began appearing on camera with her head covered and broadcasting daily prayers on her blog, even while traveling. This earned her even more trust and respect from her followers, the vast majority of whom were devout Muslims.



In February, the couple announced that they had decided to move to Dubai. Videos of beautiful trips from the United Arab Emirates, expensive purchases, and fun pastimes began to appear on the page.

In the spring, active sales of tours to subscribers began at ridiculous prices. Ilyusa assured that the low cost was justified by the lack of markups from travel agencies, she swore and swore that she knew how to do everything right, and simply wanted to help her audience go on their dream vacation.

She sold 10-day tours for $200-300. Moreover, the price included not only the flight and standard transfer, but also accommodation in a villa, VIP meals from the chef, and sightseeing tours of the United Arab Emirates.



Everything ended predictably. Almost a thousand people were left without money and vouchers, and Minnegaleeva with 250 thousand dollars hid from abandoned subscribers in the same capital of the UAE.



The Kazan Internal Affairs Directorate began an investigation into the fraud, but the blogger began to deny guilt. What happened is supposedly an unfortunate coincidence. Ilyusa promised to return all funds within a year, threatening that for negative reviews she would delay the return as much as possible. Having lost her income, the blogger created a Telegram channel in which for $100 you can find out the details of the intimate life of a Muslim woman; the channel was created jointly with her husband. Probably, things didn’t work out, because, as the victims said, they still didn’t see any returns after several months.



The blogger decided to get out of the debt hole in the same way and... resumed selling trips to Dubai. Yesterday, the girl shared the price list on her Instagram page, but with updated prices - extremely inflated, since now she is “selling, not organizing charity.” She offered the previously deceived travelers to buy a new tour and pay the difference, and if they did not want to be dealt with again, to expect the promised money.