The key facts
- Assets of former Volgograd city duma deputy Alexei Zverev and his relatives worth ~500 million rubles have been turned over to the state
- The grounds were the ban on business activities for deputies; assets were registered in the names of relatives and trusted persons
- The ruling is subject to immediate enforcement at the initiative of the prosecutor's office, but has not entered into force and may be appealed
Former deputy loses half a billion rubles in assets
In Volgograd, a court has ruled that real estate belonging to former city duma deputy Alexei Zverev and his relatives, with a total value of about 500 million rubles, should be transferred to the state. This was reported by the prosecutor's office of Volgograd Region. The lawsuit was heard by the Voroshilovsky District Court, which granted the supervisory authority's claims in full.
What the audit established
The audit showed that Zverev combined his deputy duties with business activities, although the law prohibits parliamentarians from running businesses. Income from commercial projects allowed him to acquire expensive real estate and invest in business development. Moreover, the assets were registered not only in the former deputy's own name: according to the prosecutor's office, he put them in the names of relatives and trusted persons, concealing his real financial situation and avoiding declaring his property.
Enforcement and appeal
At the initiative of the prosecutor's office, the ruling is subject to immediate enforcement, but it has not yet entered into legal force and may be appealed. This is a separate civil proceeding concerning property claims: earlier, Zverev had already been convicted in a criminal case of fraud involving OSAGO insurance payments.
Context of other anti-corruption cases
The Volgograd court's decision fits into a series of recent anti-corruption measures in the regions. Thus, Life.ru previously reported that the prosecutor's office demanded the dismissal of former Saratov Region Health Minister Vladimir Dudakov due to loss of trust: the supervisory authority's claims were related to inaccurate information about family income and the purchase of an apartment in Moscow for 34 million rubles, registered in the official's wife's name.
