Kursk Deputy Governor Detained in Alleged Border Defense Fraud Scandal

Law enforcement officials announced on Monday that the acting deputy governor of Russia’s Kursk region has been apprehended, with reports indicating that he is suspected of misappropriating funds intended for border fortification efforts in the neighboring Belgorod region.

Acting Kursk Governor Alexander Khinshtein confirmed the arrest of his deputy, Vladimir Bazarov, via a Telegram message, specifying that the investigation relates to Bazarov’s previous role as Belgorod’s deputy governor responsible for construction. “Initial information suggests this case involves the building of defense structures,” Khinshtein noted.

Bazarov became deputy governor of the Belgorod region in 2020 after serving as both deputy governor and head of the government in Sevastopol, which is located in annexed Crimea. He assumed the role of acting deputy governor in Kursk in February of this year.

The Investigative Committee of Russia, which looks into significant crimes, has yet to provide a statement regarding his arrest.

According to state-run news agency TASS, referencing law enforcement sources, Bazarov is facing allegations similar to those directed at other former Belgorod officials who are accused of misappropriating funds designated for fortifications along the Ukrainian border. He is anticipated to be taken to Moscow for further interrogation.

The Russian government allocated billions of rubles for fortifications in the Belgorod and Kursk regions due to concerns that Ukrainian forces might potentially launch an offensive into Russian territory. These anxieties were confirmed when Ukraine initiated a surprise attack into Kursk in August 2024, seizing significant territories.

Although Ukrainian forces did not conduct a similar operation in Belgorod, they have executed numerous small-scale raids there, leading to skepticism about the effectiveness of the expensive defense measures.

The estimated financial losses related to the Belgorod embezzlement case stand at around 1 billion rubles ($12.4 million).

Last month, investigations linked another former deputy governor of Belgorod, Rustem Zainullin, along with several businessmen and construction companies, to a substantial fraudulent scheme concerning border defense projects in Belgorod. Prosecutors are pursuing claims for nearly 925 million rubles ($11.9 million) in damages from those accused.

The Kursk region is likewise involved in investigations pertaining to border defenses. Earlier this year, former Governor Alexei Smirnov and his first deputy, Alexei Dedov, were arrested on large-scale fraud charges.

Smirnov’s predecessor, Roman Starovoit, who later became transportation minister, reportedly took his own life outside Moscow in July amid news that he was also under investigation in connection with the same embezzlement case.