The man decided to earn a large sum of money in a couple of minutes, but got caught.
The 45-year-old Russian demonstrated his ingenuity and sleight of hand while visiting a cafe on Taganskaya Square.
Details were revealed on the Moscow Prosecutor's Office Telegram channel.
The attacker came to the cafe in the evening and chose a table next to the victim. The man was absent at the time, but his outerwear was hanging on a chair.
The thief placed the chair as close as possible to the victim's table, hung up his coat and thus tried to hide the crime. But the surveillance camera recorded everything.
The man pulled $5.5 thousand (about 540 thousand rubles) out of a visitor’s pocket and quickly left the establishment.
The pickpocket was soon arrested, but by that time he had already managed to spend the stolen money.
A criminal case was opened against the thief and he was sent into custody.
