The biggest names pranked by Russian duo Lexus and Vovan, from Prince Harry to Elton John
Russian pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov have added Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar to their list of high-profile victims, after the pair tricked the Taoiseach by pretending to be officials from the African Union.
Known by their aliases, Vovan and Lexus, the duo have been fooling world leaders and celebrities for many years with a modus operandi that involves them masquerading as other leaders or senior officials.
Their hoaxes have triggered top-level investigations by governments, raising concerns about breaches of intelligence and potential links to Russia’s security services.
It all began with Mr Kuznetsov, a lawyer and Stolyarov, an economist, making calls within Russia and pranking Russian celebrities before getting involved in domestic politics and then finally moving onto the international stage, according to a profile in the Moscow Times.
They first gained international notoriety, pretending to be Russian president Vladimir Putin, in 2015. The British singer, a sharp critic of Russia’s anti-LGBT+ laws had said he wanted to meet Mr Putin to speak about gay rights.
