Switch Language

An investigator from Khanty-Mansiysk, a city in Western Siberia, is preventing lawyer Pavel Rusnakov from reviewing the case file of Valery Ledkov, who is accused of financing the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). The lawyer himself reported this to OVD-Info.

According to Rusnakov, the investigator refuses to send the case materials and insists that he must come in person. The lawyer added that he has previously had no difficulties accessing case files remotely for cases he handled in other regions.

59-year-old bard and folklorist Ledkov is being prosecuted under the article on financing extremist activity (Part 1, Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code) and is currently under house arrest. According to law enforcement, the man made six donations to the FBK after the organisation was declared “extremist” in Russia.

The first payment of 300 roubles (about US$3) was made on 5 August 2021. Investigators say that after this, Ledkov set up a monthly transfer and over the next several months, until 5 February 2022, he transferred a further 1,800 roubles (about US$20) to the organisation.

The case was opened on 24 December 2024, prompted by the first FBK donation of 300 roubles. News of a new criminal case over the subsequent 1,800 roubles in donations emerged on 1 April. Both cases have been merged into a single investigation.

  • In June 2024, Ledkov’s son Konstantin also faced criminal prosecution: he was charged with repeat “discrediting” of the army (Part 1, Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code), incitement to activity against state security (subsection “v” of Part 2, Article 280.4), and repeat display of banned symbols (Part 1, Article 282.4). At the end of May this year, Konstantin Ledkov was sentenced to five and a half years in a penal colony.
  • OVD-Info has reported in detail on the prosecution of Konstantin and Valery Ledkov in this material.