Moscow Court Freezes Assets of Yabloko Deputy Amid Controversial Military Fake News Case

A Moscow court has ordered the confiscation of assets belonging to Maxim Kruglov, the detained deputy chairman of the liberal Yabloko party, as part of a criminal investigation related to allegations of disseminating “false information” about the military.

Kruglov faces a potential prison sentence of up to ten years due to charges linked to two Telegram posts from April 2022, in which he criticized the extensive invasion of Ukraine. He has refuted the allegations, describing them as “ridiculous.”

Earlier this month, Kruglov was arrested and placed in pre-trial custody, where he will remain until at least November 29.

The ruling by the Zamoskvoretsky District Court to freeze his assets is set to take effect on October 28, as stated on the Moscow court system’s official website.

Kruglov’s attorney, Natalia Tikhonova, has stated her intention to challenge the asset seizure.

“This decision is not typical. Maxim Sergeyevich [Kruglov] is not a businessman and does not have any excessive income,” Tikhonova said during a conversation with the legal defense and advocacy organization Slovo Zashchite on Thursday.

Tikhonova has indicated that the charges against Kruglov are based on his Telegram posts that referenced United Nations statistics on civilian casualties in Mariupol and Bucha. The Russian government has attributed the deaths in Mariupol to Ukrainian forces and denies any involvement of its troops in the alleged atrocities in Bucha.

From 2019 to 2024, Kruglov served as a city council member in Moscow. He was appointed as Yabloko’s deputy chairman in December 2023.

He had previously been labeled a “foreign agent.”