A councillor in Moscow has uploaded a video to social media which appears to show the key financial details on a housing contract simply disappearing when the paper is held near a flame.

The councillor, Yelena Selkova, accused officials of deliberately using erasable ink on the contract so the sum could be revised after being agreed, The Times reports.

“They would have been able to write in any price they want”, she said, suggesting that the excess could have been split between corrupt officials.

Russian police have estimated the cost of public fraud as high as 102 billion roubles (£1.1 billion) in the first eight months of 2019, but opposition politicians believe the figure is even higher.