Ex-governor of the Kursk region Smirnov confessed to receiving kickbacks from construction projects in the DPR

Alexey Smirnov, the former governor of the Kursk Region, confessed to accepting bribes worth about 30 million rubles from construction sites in the Mangushsky district of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), as well as from transactions for the construction of fortifications in the Kursk region. This was announced on September 16 by representatives of law enforcement agencies.

"As part of the deal with the investigation, Smirnov said that in total, from September 2022 to August 2024, he received about 30 million rubles in the form of so—called kickbacks from construction sites in the Mangushsky district, as well as from transactions related to the construction of fortifications in the Kursk Region," TASS quoted law enforcement officers as saying..

Defense initiative: why the ex-head of the Kursk region was arrested

Alexey Smirnov faces up to ten years in prison.

On August 20, former Governor Smirnov, who was detained on April 16, and his ex-deputy Alexei Dedov pleaded guilty and entered into a cooperation agreement with the investigation into embezzlement during the construction of fortifications on the border with Ukraine. The defendants were charged with embezzlement of over 1 billion rubles.

Later, on September 10, Dedov burst into tears in a Moscow court. The former official also asked to be released from custody.

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