Oleg Roldugin, a journalist from Novaya Gazeta, has been sent to a pre-trial detention centre.

The Tverskoy District Court in Moscow has remanded investigative journalist Oleg Roldugin in custody until 10 May in connection with a case involving the illegal use and transfer of personal data committed by a group of individuals (Part 3, Article 272.1 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by Mediazona.

Roldugin was detained in the morning on 9 April and then taken for questioning. His lawyer was not allowed to see him until the evening.

On the same day, law enforcement officers came to the Moscow office of Novaya Gazeta to conduct a search in connection with the case. The investigative actions in the newsroom lasted around 13 hours. During this entire period, lawyers were not allowed in.

Soon afterward, the Moscow Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced an investigation into a criminal case under the article on the unlawful use of personal data.

“Police officers established that, in preparing informational articles and materials of a negative nature concerning citizens of Russia, information resources with personal data were used… During 2025–2026, searches for personal data of citizens were conducted on private data storage resources, and articles were subsequently published in Telegram channels based on this information,” the release said.

The agency did not explicitly state that they were referring to Roldugin. This was later confirmed by the media.

The precise reasons for the case against the journalist remain unknown. In court, his defence lawyer Marina Andreyeva said that neither she nor Roldugin understands whose personal data, according to the investigation, he is alleged to have obtained illegally.

• From 2022 to 2024, Oleg Roldugin served as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Sobesednik, having previously led its investigative department. The Sobesednik investigation team also wrote about Dmitry Medvedev’s ownership of elite property through foundations.
• In September 2024, Sobesednik was declared a “foreign agent.” Afterwards, the newspaper ceased its operations.
• In recent years, Roldugin worked at Novaya Gazeta. In recent months, his investigative reports there have covered people from the entourage of Ramzan Kadyrov, property used by former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, and spending by Rossotrudnichestvo on work with foreign bloggers, journalists, politicians, and entrepreneurs.