Former governor of the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, along with his first deputy, Alexei Dedov, were detained and accused of extensive fraud on Wednesday.
The Meshchansky Court in Moscow ordered that Smirnov be held in pre-trial detention for a period of two months. Images and videos were released by the court showing the ex-governor being escorted into a glass-enclosed defendant’s box, where he listened as the judge outlined the allegations against him.
According to Russia’s Interior Ministry, Smirnov and Dedov are implicated in the embezzlement of 1 billion rubles (approximately $12.17 million) from the Kursk Region Development Corporation, funds that were intended for the construction of defense structures along the border with Ukraine.
Law enforcement authorities believe that the two men were leading an organized group that, along with the management of the Kursk Region Development Corporation, orchestrated the misappropriation of public funds, stated Irina Volk, a spokesperson for the ministry.
Telegram news channels claiming connections to Russian law enforcement suggested that Vladimir Lukin, the CEO of the Kursk Region Development Corporation, who is also on trial in the same embezzlement case, provided testimony against Smirnov.
Smirnov’s tenure as governor lasted just over 200 days before he resigned in December, after which President Vladimir Putin appointed State Duma lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein as his successor.
During Smirnov’s time in office, Ukrainian forces unexpectedly invaded the Kursk region, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate from areas near the border. Many who escaped the captured areas protested, claiming that local officials and the Kremlin had neglected to offer aid for their lost homes.
Recently, Russian forces have reportedly regained control over much of the Kursk region, although a small section is still said to be under Ukrainian influence.
Smirnov seemed to lose favor with Putin early on during the incursion, as the Kremlin leader publicly interrupted him while he was trying to update him on the Ukrainian military’s advances in the border area. When Smirnov offered his resignation in December, Putin remarked that the former governor had not effectively managed the crisis.
The scrutiny surrounding the border defenses of the Kursk region has grown since the Ukrainian incursion, which reportedly faced little resistance.
In October, law enforcement officials searched the office of regional lawmaker Maxim Vasilyev, who had been accused of defending failures at the border. Vasilyev accused filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov of exaggerating the situation publicly.
Independent journalist Farida Rustamova highlighted on Wednesday that the construction of defense fortifications in the Kursk region was finished before Smirnov took office in May, succeeding former governor Roman Starovoit, who was appointed by Putin to lead Russia’s Transportation Ministry.
Prior to his governorship, Smirnov was the first vice governor and chairman of the regional government in the Kursk area.
His arrest comes shortly after the mayor of the capital city of the Kursk region announced his resignation due to “family circumstances,” prompting speculation that Acting Governor Khinshtein is purging local elite networks in favor of his own allies.
