James Doe When James’s car arrived at the Villa Otrada
restaurant in Ukraine, he could hardly contain his excitement.
James, a 52-year-old charity worker, was about to marry the love of his life, Irina, who
was 20 years his junior.
He had been waiting for this moment for several months.
It was summer 2017, the beginning of a long, hot season in Odessa, Ukraine.
A beautiful scene was set as tables, and chairs lined the terrace overlooking the Black Sea
as 60 guests arrived at the ceremony.
James and Irina exchanged vows beneath an archway adorned with flowers in a dreamy sequence
of events.
But the wedding was far from perfect.
Hours later, James sat alone in a hospital bed because he had been drugged.
Oh, and James never married Irina.
He married the couple’s wedding planner.
James lost most of his life savings in this scam, along with who he thought was the love
of his life.
Trapped Ukraine’s unsteady economy leaves tensions
running high as the people constantly search for financial stability.
There is a big division between proud Ukrainian nationalists and those who value their Russian
ties.
With an average monthly wage of about $350, Ukraine is one of Europe’s poorest countries.
And clearly, there’s the entire mess that’s going on right now in Ukraine.
Amidst the economic upheaval in the country, some women have sought refuge in bank accounts
of western men, who flock to Odessa in search of beautiful brides.
In fact, Internet romance is now a booming industry in Ukraine, one that the economy
has come to rely on.
Odessa is like headquarters for Internet brides, and western men flock from far and wide to
meet their brides-to-be they found on the web.
Walking down the streets of Odessa, you’ll likely see an older white man dining with
a young Ukrainian woman alongside a pile of designer gifts.
First meetings are often awkward dates facilitated by translators at fancy restaurants.
Women spend multiple hours every day in Internet cafes searching for prospective suitors.
Many of the men are American, but several European and Middle Eastern men look for love
in Ukraine.
One of the better-known Internet romance companies is Anastasia International, which boasts over
$140 million in annual revenue.
Thousands of women are signed up, many of whom are from Ukraine, but with several international
users as well.
The website is dedicated to matching lonely bachelors with beautiful brides from anywhere
in the world.
Once they match, prospective couples can use the platform to facilitate online chats or
in-person meetings.
The company also organizes staffed trips to Ukraine for men hoping to find love.
Irian Pikel James is so embarrassed by what happened that
he’s opted not to share his real name with the public.
He told his story anonymously to the BBC, who verified it through documents and extensive
paperwork.
Unlike many Western men who end up with a Ukrainian bride, James did not come to Odessa
looking for love.
He is a charity worker from the UK, who was asked to set up a refuge for children coming
from Ukraine’s conflict zone in the east in 2015.
He enlisted help from a translator named Julia as he commuted between his full-time job in
England and his volunteer project in Ukraine.
One winter, Odessa experienced heavy snowfall that halted James’s volunteer work.
Since there was more downtime than usual, Julia suggested that James go on a date with
her friend, Irina.
James and Irina immediately hit it off.
She told him about two previous failed marriages and that she did not want to marry a Ukrainian
man again.
They enjoyed evenings on the town, with Julia as their awkward third wheel translator.
James paid Julia $150 per day to accompany them, so it wasn’t that bad of a gig.
Even with a translator between them, James and Julia’s chemistry was undeniable.
Long Distance Their communication was easier over text because
they used Viber, which is similar to WhatsApp but also has a translation feature.
In her messages, she professed her love and thanked James for giving her a “fairytale”
life.
After the grueling winter, James traveled freely between Ukraine and England.
For six months, he visited Irina each time he went to Odessa.
He took her to expensive dinners and fancy nights out at the Opera House.
Any physical displays of affection were off-limits—even kissing.
Julia was always there, and Irina said she did not believe in premarital activities.
James didn’t mind.
He was awed by her moral standards.
Eleven months after their first date, James popped the question after some persuasion
from Julia and Irina.
In November 2016, the couple held an engagement party at Villa Otrada, the same venue as their
inevitable wedding.
They played Whitney Houston’s “Could I Have This Kiss Forever” as they swayed slowly
on the dance floor and glitter fell from the ceiling.
James was in love with Irina, who felt trapped in Ukraine.
He wanted to help, and this wedding was the perfect way to do that.
Money Faucet Once they were engaged, James practically
bled money for Irna.
He paid for her to get English lessons, to hopefully make her future move to the UK a
bit easier.
However, it became clear that even marriage wouldn't make Irina’s move to the UK an
easy one, due to all the legal obstacles.
Since she couldn’t move to his country, he decided to move to hers.
He quit his job in England and sold his house.
The couple began looking for a home together in Odessa.
But transferring money from England to Ukraine is no easy feat.
Ukraine is extremely corrupt and has a repertoire of several high-profile banking scandals.
The government puts a cap on international money transfers to avoid money laundering.
James wanted to transfer $200,000 to his account in Ukraine to fund his new apartment with
Irina.
But James did not know how to get around the banking obstacles.
Then, Irina had an idea.
The Wedding Planner Instead of putting the money in Irina’s
personal account, she suggested that he transfer the funds to her friend Kristina’s bank
account.
Kristina was their wedding planner, so a business-looking transfer might not trigger as many red flags.
Though a bit wary, James eventually gave in and sent the money to Kristina.
But things took a very stressful turn.
Irina told James that he could only access his $200,000 if he was legally married to
Kristina.
Irina promised that it would just be a formality—their marriage would be completed in ten minutes
at a registry office, and they could file for divorce shortly after.
James was in a bind.
Just days before their wedding, Irina threatened to call it off if James did not get his money
back and buy a home for them to move into.
In text messages, she told him that she would look like a street worker in front of her
relatives if she did not have an apartment with him secured by their wedding day.
We promised that marrying Kristina to collect the money, then divorcing her and marrying
Irina would be easy.
Then, in July 2017, James married wedding planner Kristina Stakhova.
Irina was thrilled.
The money was released from Kristina’s bank account that afternoon.
Irina told James that every cent of the $200,000 went towards their shared apartment.
James later found out that the apartment only cost $60,000.
Wedding Day The day after his legal marriage to Kristina,
James had his wedding with Irina.
He planned to proceed with the ceremony and reception as usual and hold off on the legal
stuff until his divorce from Kristina was finalized.
Though Ukraine is cheap, Kristina priced the wedding at a costly $20,000.
Of course, James paid for everything.
What he didn’t know was that the entire thing was fake.
The 60 guests in attendance were paid to be there, and Kristina’s itemized expenses
were inflated by over 50%.
The woman he thought was Irina’s mother was actually the translator’s mother.
Irina already had a husband, who she married three months before meeting James.
Kristina already had a husband too, Denys, who she divorced three weeks before her legal
marriage to James.
Once her and James’s divorce went through, she remarried Denys.
On the wedding night, James believes his drink was spiked by the woman he thought was Irina’s
mother.
She kept giving him drinks until he was shaking violently.
When he woke up, he was in the hospital bed, alone.
Irina refused to go with him, saying that he got too drunk and embarrassed her in front
of her family.
For the next few weeks, Irina claimed she was dealing with her own medical problems
but would not let James visit her in the hospital.
He transferred her $12,000 to cover her medical expenses.
Finally, someone intervened.
A Ukrainian person told James that his apartment was valued at a mere $63,000.
That’s when he started putting the pieces together.
James realized Kristina and Irina had scammed him out of nearly $250,000.
His heart was broken.
Thankfully, he had all the records of their messages on Viber and copies of the bank documents.
He was sure justice would be served.
But the Ukrainian justice system does not work like the British justice system.
He went to Odessa police, who just laughed in his face.
They are dealing with a lot of violence and corruption, so marriage scams are low on their
list of priorities.
Police in Ukraine are often bribed to get anything done.
But James didn’t want to do that.
Though Kristina and Irina were brought in for questioning, no charges were brought against
them.
The only progress made was that James was declared sole owner of the apartment he legally
shared with his bogus “wife,” Kristina.
Even if he sells it, there’s no way he will get near the $200,000 he paid for it.
Ukrainian Sleuth Since the Ukrainian police proved useless,
James enlisted the help of Robert Papinyan, a private investigator known as Odessa’s
very own Sherlock Holmes.
He had to pay a $3,000 fee up-front in addition to 30% of any of the money he recovered.
His office in central Odessa is adorned with a gold silhouette of Sherlock Holmes, hat
and a pipe in all.
Papinyan stays true to the theme—he has a Sherlock notepad and Sherlock business cards.
Even his ringtone is the theme song to the Soviet version of the beloved TV show.
But Papinyan is no ordinary investigator.
He cites “intimidation” as one of his methods.
He is a former policeman but doesn’t work with the police.
Instead, he uses “psychological methods.”
Papinyan says that since James’s money was stolen he’d have to use illegal ways of
getting it back.
The BBC got in touch with Irina and Kristina’s husbands.
Kristina’s husband complained about a car that was following them relentlessly and called
Papinyan’s men “extortionists.”
Irina’s husband denied any knowledge of James.
The BBC later found Irina’s dating profile still active online, where her bio says that
she’s a divorced babysitter whose heart will belong to only one man.
Papinyan told James that his men found Irina by her home in Odessa allowed her to repay
the debt.
Keeping Secrets James doesn’t want to get his hopes up.
He’s simply lost too much.
He conceals his identity to protect job prospects.
His family doesn’t even know what happened.
James stays busy with a new charity job and maintains contact with Papinyan as he works
on the case.
James told BBC his story to warn others about engaging with women from Ukraine.
But one good thing came from this.
England’s foreign office updated its Ukraine travel advisory to include marriage fraud
and extortion.
In short, you’ll never get your money back.
Click to watch one of these next videos!
And let us know in the comment section how you think the bill should be paid on the first
date, split or one specific person pays the bill!