Lerchek urgently hospitalized on the day of the appeal hearing in her case

On the morning of November 5, blogger Valeria Chekalina (Lerchek) was urgently taken to hospital for a procedure, so she could not attend the Moscow City Court hearing on her appeal against the sentence in the case of transferring more than 250 million rubles to the UAE. The defense is seeking an acquittal, while the prosecution demands increasing the suspended sentence to six years.

Otabek YusupovFirst published on tafs uz 5 November 2026 at 11:132 min read

The key facts

On November 5, Lerchek was urgently taken to hospital and did not attend the Moscow City Court hearing
In July, the Gagarinsky Court sentenced her to five years suspended, a fine, and a ban on administering websites
The defense seeks an acquittal, the prosecution demands increasing the sentence to six years

Hospitalization on the day of the hearing

On the morning of November 5, blogger Valeria Chekalina, known as Lerchek, was urgently taken to hospital: she was scheduled to undergo a procedure before 11 a.m., so she was unable to attend the Moscow City Court hearing where appeals against her sentence were being considered. Her lawyer Konstantin Tretyakov told RIA Novosti about this:

The essence of the case and the parties' positions

In July, the Gagarinsky Court of Moscow sentenced Chekalina in the case of transferring more than 250 million rubles to the UAE to accounts of non-residents to five years of suspended imprisonment, a three-year ban on administering websites, and a large fine. Media outlets differ on its amount: Life.ru cites 763.5 million rubles, Gazeta.Ru — 765 million. Chekalina herself denied guilt and asked that no large fine be imposed, citing a lack of funds. The defense is seeking an acquittal, while the prosecution demands increasing the suspended sentence to six years.

Health condition and treatment

Chekalina has been diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer. She had previously planned to appear in court in person, but her lawyer warned that the decision would depend on how she felt. The hearing was originally scheduled for November 17 but was moved to November 5 due to her health condition. According to Life.ru, the blogger began a second course of chemotherapy at Moscow City Clinical Hospital No. 62 and, according to her, is receiving treatment under a compulsory medical insurance policy after an examination at the Blokhin Oncology Center. In addition, the defense received an invitation from a Chinese clinic and applied to the court for permission to travel abroad. Separately, it was reported that Chekalina's ex-husband failed to get his sentence overturned.