Screenshot/Instagram – @sergey_kosenko
- Influencer Sergey Kosenko is reportedly under investigation by the Moscow Traffic Inspectorate.
- In an Instagram video, he drove a car while handcuffed to a woman who was tied to the roof.
- Kosenko has faced backlash before for online stunt videos.
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A Russian influencer who tied his girlfriend to the roof of a Bentley for a video is reportedly under investigation by the Moscow State Traffic Inspectorate.
The influencer, Sergey Kosenko, has over 5 million followers on Instagram and is known for his explosive presence online and proclivity for dangerous real-life activities.
In January, he was deported from Indonesia after throwing a party that violated COVID-19 rules, according to The Moscow Times. In December, Kosenko sparked criticism online after he uploaded an Instagram video of him and a woman driving a motorcycle off a pier into the ocean in Bali, reported The Daily Mail and other outlets.
In the now-viral video, which has accrued over 86,000 likes and was posted to Instagram on Monday, Kosenko drove a bluish-green Bentley while his girlfriend, bound by sets of ropes and taped at the mouth, lay on the roof. Kosenko's left hand was handcuffed to the woman's right hand. In the background, Russian trap artist Egor Kreed's up-tempo hip-hop song "P---- BOY" blasted.
Kosenko, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, wrote in Russian that he had done it "already 20 times." According to the India Times and other outlets, Kosenko said in the comments that his girlfriend riding on the roof was one of multiple "trust tests" that the couple had done together.
Soon after the video was released on Monday, the Moscow State Traffic Inspectorate published a statement on the messaging platform Telegram that appeared to reference the incident, according to the India Times and other outlets. The agency said it was "investigating" an online video in which a girl was tied to the roof of a moving car.
According to Life, a variety publication funded by Russia's Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communication, the Bentley did not belong to Kosenko and had 68 unpaid fines attached to it.
On Tuesday, Kosenko shared a follow-up Instagram post saying that he and his girlfriend apologized and that they were fined 750 RUB, which equates to roughly $10. It was not immediately clear whether this fine was related to the Moscow State Traffic Inspectorate's investigation.
Kosenko's viral stunt appears to follow a trend in Russia known as "trash streaming" or "thrash streaming," which involves internet streamers participating in dangerous acts live on camera while viewers donate money and egg on the performers. The trend has been linked to several deaths and sparked criticism from legislators.
Read more stories from Insider's Digital Culture desk.