In 2025, law enforcement detained 99 high-ranking officials on suspicion of corruption, calculated by «Novaya Gazeta Europe»*. This averages 14 cases per month and is a record level of arrests for at least the last 10 years.
The number of criminal cases in 2025 is already approaching the figures for the entire 2024 and is almost twice the entire year of 2021.
Among departmental officials, law enforcement officers are most affected: almost a third (28%) of criminal cases involve them. Next is the construction and housing and utilities sector (18%), economy and industry (11%), transport and natural resource management (8% each).
Criminal cases are often accompanied by confiscation of property and large fines, many times exceeding the proven damage from the crime. For example, on June 25 of this year, the State Secretary of Dagestan, Magomed-Sultan Magomedov, was detained. The next day, the court satisfied the prosecutor general's claim to confiscate from Magomedov and his relatives the oil transshipment complex «Kaspnefteservice» (formerly JSC «Dagnefteprodukt»), the companies «MSB Holding», «Dagestan New Technologies», and «Nefteproduktsnab», as well as other property belonging to them.
Corruption cases today are turning into a quick and almost formal procedure. According to lawyers, the time from the start of the investigation to sentencing has significantly decreased, primarily because the standard of proof has been significantly lowered. Charges are often based solely on testimonial evidence.
Alongside the increase in high-profile cases against high-ranking officials, the «fight against corruption» at the middle and lower levels is also gaining momentum. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, in the first quarter of 2025, almost a quarter more corruption crimes were detected than in the first quarter of 2024: 15.5 thousand compared to 12.5 thousand.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent» and «undesirable» organization.