The sale of Larisa Dolina's luxury apartment turned into a scandal that affected her reputation and became an important precedent in the real estate sector.
In 2024, the singer became a victim of a fraudulent scheme, resulting in a loss of 175 million rubles and forcing her to sell her Moscow apartment. Valued at 138 million, the apartment was sold for 112 million. The buyer turned out to be Polina Lurie, who was unaware of the fraud. The court later returned the apartment to Dolina, recognizing her mental state at the time of the transaction as unstable, while Lurie was advised to seek compensation through the courts from the fraudsters.
Reaction to the consequences of the "Dolina effect"
Following this, an active anti-campaign against the singer began. For instance, the establishment "Café Pushkin" canceled the announcement of her New Year's performance, and discussions about removing her episode from the film "The Incredible Adventures of Shurik" became relevant. The term "Dolina effect" is gaining popularity on social media, denoting a situation where a seller attempts to dispute a transaction after receiving payment, claiming to have fallen victim to fraudsters. A separate article on this topic even appeared on Wikipedia. In several cities, ticket returns for Dolina's concerts have been observed, and some brands have suspended their cooperation with her.
Dolina faced harsh criticism from public figures such as Nikita Dzhigurda and Alena Vodonaeva, who accused her of misappropriating the buyer's money. Singer Slava noted that the "Dolina effect" is already impacting the real estate market, forcing sellers to prove their good faith. In response to the criticism, Dolina's director stated that resolving issues regarding refunds should fall under the jurisdiction of the judicial system.
Some companies took advantage of the scandal for their own interests. For example, "Burger King" announced that it had excluded Larisa Dolina's house from its delivery area, while "Aviasales" claimed to have fallen victim to fraudsters whose scheme involves the birth of a person without housing from parents.
The issue of the "grandmother's case" and its impact on the real estate market
This situation has become an important precedent, although similar court decisions regarding the return of apartments had occurred before but did not attract such widespread attention. Since the fall of 2025, similar schemes began to be actively applied, leading to a significant decrease in trust in the secondary real estate market, especially towards elderly sellers. Buyers have become wary of ending up without both housing and money, as the mechanisms for protecting good-faith purchasers proved to be insufficiently effective. As a result, transactions became more labor-intensive: buyers began to demand additional conditions in contracts, involve their relatives, and conduct more thorough checks.
In 2025, over three thousand families suffered due to canceled transactions with elderly sellers, as reported by television host Andrey Malakhov, who was approached by victims of such deals. The Russian Guild of Realtors reported a 15-20% increase in the number of legal disputes where sellers attempt to reclaim apartments after transactions. Information about such cases caused panic in the market: people over 50 began to be treated with caution, requiring certificates of legal capacity, the presence of relatives, and the involvement of a psychiatrist. As a result, the share of transactions certified by notaries increased.
In response to the situation, legislative initiatives emerged proposing the introduction of a so-called "cooling-off period," which implies a seven-day delay in state registration after signing the purchase agreement. This would allow sellers to receive money only after the official registration of the transfer of ownership and only to a bank account, while cash transactions would be completely prohibited.
Source: theins.ru
