"In one of the regions, the debtor was found under the ceiling lining"
The number of enforcement proceedings on debts in 2025 increased by almost 7.2 million compared to last year, Dmitry Aristov, head of the FSSP, said in an interview with Izvestia on the eve of Bailiff's Day. Most often, Russians do not repay debts to banks and other credit institutions, and slightly less often they do not want to pay administrative fines, utility bills, and taxes. About where they hide from bailiffs, how many people ended up in the register of alimony payers and how the agency works in the new regions of Russia — in the material of Izvestia.
"Debtors like to hide in different pits and holes"
— What is the number of debtors in Russia now? What is the dynamics compared to 2023 and 2024?
— We do not take into account the number of debtors in our activities, we work with enforcement proceedings. This is due to the fact that the same person or organization may have different types of debts. In the first nine months of 2025, there were more than 113 million law enforcement agencies. This is 7.2 million more than in the first nine months of last year and 5.6 million more than in 2023. And we observe a growing trend every year.
If we talk about the categories of enforcement proceedings, the largest part is debt collection in favor of credit institutions. They make up about 27%. About 26% are fines that courts and authorized bodies have imposed for administrative offenses. More than 11% — debt on housing and communal services and in favor of organizations of the fuel and energy complex. About 6% more — collection of tax debts.
— Who most often does not pay their debts? What is the portrait of a typical debtor?
— Debtors are most often men between the ages of 35 and 45, who live mainly in regional capitals or in large urban agglomerations and have a source of income that is insufficient to repay the debt in full. The average amount of debt is about 62.5 thousand rubles. At the same time, debt on loan payments and administrative fines predominates.
— There are often stories of debtors hiding from bailiffs in the most unusual places. What stories of foreclosure do you personally remember?
— Debtors hiding from enforcement officers often use their wits and hide in the most unusual places. A favorite place for hiding is various interior items: cabinets, sofas, beds. In one of the regions, the debtor was found under the ceiling lining, he could only go down to draw up a protocol by breaking it.
Debtors also like to hide in different pits and burrows. In the Perm Region, an alimony debtor was found in a dug-out tunnel that led from under the house. The FSSP staff interrupted his work on enlarging the excavation, helped the man out of the trench and escorted him to the bailiff unit. This year, more than 189 thousand debtors were wanted, including 118 thousand for alimony. Our employees have searched for more than 51 thousand debtors, of which more than 33 thousand are on alimony.
— In May 2025, the register of alimony debtors began operating. It includes those who are held administratively or criminally liable for non-payment, as well as those who are wanted by bailiffs. How many people are there now? At the beginning of the work, the data of about 190 thousand people was included there.
— To date, there are more than 300 thousand debtors in the register of debtors on alimony obligations, of which 69 thousand are women and about 240 thousand are men.
— At the St. Petersburg Legal Forum this year, the topic of new, stricter restrictions for non-payers of alimony was actively discussed. For example, the Ministry of Justice proposed to ban them from using "Public Services" and buying superior comfort tickets. What restrictions are being considered seriously?
— So far, the register of alimony defaulters is socially oriented, encouraging citizens to independently fulfill alimony claims in order to eliminate reputational losses, as well as adverse consequences associated with social, business and financial activity. At the same time, the Ministry of Justice of Russia, together with the Federal Migration Service of Russia, is currently working on the issue of refusing debtors on alimony obligations included in the register to provide a number of public services.
At the same time, a wide range of measures is still being applied to them. These are the seizure and sale of the debtor's property, restriction of the right to travel outside Russia or the right to drive a vehicle, as well as bringing to administrative and criminal responsibility.
For example, more than 10 billion rubles of alimony have been collected due to restrictions on the right to drive vehicles. After the application of criminal law measures, almost 2 billion rubles of alimony were collected.
"More than 1 trillion rubles have been recovered in a year"
— It is not uncommon for the FSSP to turn property into state revenue in high-profile cases. What is the largest amount this year? What are the most interesting cases you can highlight?
— In the first nine months of 2025, according to the claims of prosecutors, more than 1.3 billion securities and 1.5 thousand objects of other "corrupt" property acquired with income, the legality of which has not been confirmed, were transferred to the authorized bodies. Of the most high-profile cases, the enforcement documents for which were submitted for execution in 2025, one can single out the appeal to the state income of businessman Konstantin Strukov's assets, including a stake in PJSC Yuzhuralzoloto.
Konstantin Strukov, former President of PJSC Yuzhuralzoloto Group of Companies (YUGK)
More than 700 objects of real estate of the ex-mayor of Vladivostok Vladimir Nikolaev and his family have been converted into state income. The assets of PAO "Stavropol Energosbyt", JSC "Stavropol City Electric Networks", JSC "Gorelektrosset" and JSC "Kislovodsk Grid Company" related to the former head of JSC "Interregional Grid Company of the North Caucasus" Magomed Kaitov and others were also transferred to the state revenue. In addition, employees of enforcement agencies transferred 100% of the shares of the authorized capital of Domodedovo Airport to the revenue of the Russian Federation.
— What amount was recovered in favor of the state in 2023-2024?
— In 2023 and 2024, employees of enforcement agencies annually collected about 460 billion rubles to the budget system of the Russian Federation. In total, in 2024, employees collected more than 1 trillion rubles.
— In the spring, you reported that in 2024, bailiffs expelled 88 thousand foreign citizens from the country. Are there any preliminary results for this year?
— In the first nine months of 2025, about 38 thousand foreign citizens and stateless persons were forcibly expelled from Russia. The expulsions were carried out mainly to the CIS countries. Foreign citizens were also expelled to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Republic of Senegal, the People's Republic of Bangladesh, and the Federal Republic of Somalia.
— How many people are currently unable to travel due to debts? How has their number changed over the past year?
— It is not an end in itself for employees of enforcement agencies to limit the debtor's travel abroad. It is important that the debtor complies with the court's decision. Many people often forget that on the other side there is a recoverer to whom the debtor must either pay alimony or compensate for the damage caused by the crime. In the framework of enforcement proceedings where this restrictive measure was applied, bailiffs recovered 196 billion rubles in the first nine months of this year. This is 27% more than in the same period of 2024.
— What are the results of the FSSP's work in the new regions? What kind of work do bailiffs face?
— The main departments of the Federal Migration Service of Russia for the Donetsk People's Republic, Lugansk People's Republic, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions are fully integrated into the Russian legal system. In 2024 and the first nine months of 2025, the requirements contained in more than 237 thousand executive documents were fulfilled. More than 25 billion rubles have been recovered in favor of citizens and organizations, as well as to the Russian budget system. More than 4 billion rubles of alimony payments have been collected in favor of claimants for alimony obligations.
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