A court in Krasnodar has sentenced former regional emergencies minister Sergei Shtrikov to six years and six months in a penal colony for abuse of office.
Shtrikov, who led the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Situations of Krasnodar Krai, was convicted over the rigging of a public auction, the joint press service of the region's courts told the Russian news outlet Lenta.ru.
Alongside the prison sentence, the court barred the former official from holding civil service positions for three years and stripped him of his special rank of police major.
The July 2024 auction rigging scheme
The court established that the offence took place in July 2024 while Shtrikov was serving as Minister of Civil Defence and Emergency Situations in Kuban.
During that period, Shtrikov ordered his subordinates to prepare false documents alleging that violations had been committed during the conduct of an auction.
As a result of those fabricated records, a repeat auction was held and won by a company whose interests the minister personally lobbied for.
The first company, which was prevented from starting work because of Shtrikov's actions, suffered multi-million losses.
Custody and regional ministry role
Shtrikov was held in custody throughout the investigation into the case and did not admit guilt at any stage of the proceedings.
Krasnodar Krai, widely known as Kuban after the river that runs through the territory, is a major federal subject in southern Russia bordering the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, with its administrative centre in the city of Krasnodar.
Regional ministries of civil defence and emergency situations in Russia oversee disaster response, fire safety and civil protection across their territories, operating alongside the federal Ministry of Emergency Situations and managing public procurement for regional rescue services.
Under Russian law, abuse of office applies to state officials who act beyond their legal authority in a manner that causes substantial harm to the rights or legitimate interests of citizens or organisations. Special ranks such as police major carry service status and statutory entitlements that are forfeited when stripped by a court.
