Former police major Alexander Mezenov has been sentenced to seven years in a maximum security penal colony in Yekaterinburg for accepting regular bribes from pimps. The press service of the courts of Sverdlovsk Oblast told Lenta.ru that a local court delivered the guilty verdict against the former officer following a corruption and extortion investigation.
The court fined Mezenov 6.79 million rubles and stripped him of his official rank of police major. A judge convicted him under Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which governs bribe taking by officials. The court also ordered the confiscation of 970 thousand rubles worth of his property to state revenue.
Mezenov previously served as an officer in the department for combating crimes against morality, the specialized vice unit responsible for policing illegal prostitution networks. Yekaterinburg, situated near the Ural Mountains, is the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and serves as Russia's fourth largest city.
Protection payments and extortion
Investigators said that Mezenov systematically collected money from two prostitution organizers between November 2023 and March 2026. In exchange for the regular payments, the former police major provided general protection to the business and agreed to refrain from conducting operational and search activities targeting their activities.
According to investigators, the monthly bribe initially stood at 30 thousand rubles from November 2023 until May 2025. Mezenov later raised the extortion fee to 40 thousand rubles per month, eventually amassing a total of 970 thousand rubles over the duration of the protection scheme.
Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation targets official bribery and corruption within state institutions. Sentences for high level corruption by law enforcement officers routinely involve severe monetary fines alongside lengthy custodial sentences in maximum security penal colonies.
Sting operation and arrest
The extortion scheme collapsed after the bribe givers turned to the Ural Directorate of the Federal Security Service, known as the UFSB. The federal security agency opened an investigation into the police officer and prepared a sting operation to catch him receiving illicit funds.
Law enforcement officers arrested Mezenov on March 6, 2026. Investigators discovered marked banknotes inside the interior cabin of his automobile, and physical inspection revealed traces of specialized dye on his hands from handling the marked cash.
The UFSB operates as the regional branch of Russia's primary domestic intelligence and security agency, overseeing anti-corruption enforcement against government personnel. Inmates serving sentences in maximum security penal colonies are subjected to strict confinement rules, monitored communication, and required work detail assignments.
