Karachay–Cherkessia court confiscates almost $900,000 in assets from former minister, including 22 properties and 3 cars
The authorities in Karachay–Cherkessia have seized assets worth more than $870,000 from former Property and Land Minister Dmitry Bugaev, including 22 properties and three vehicles.
The Cherkessk City Court has granted a claim by the Prosecutor’s Office of Karachay-Cherkessia to transfer Bugaev’s assets to the state on 12 May. Bugaev had previously also served as the republic’s former Deputy Prime Minister.
The assets were confiscated as compensation for the value of assets that had previously been disposed of by Bugaev.
According to the investigation, between 2015 and 2025 Bugaev acquired real estate and vehicles worth more than ₽310 million ($4.2 million). In total, the case concerned 40 highly liquid properties located in Moscow, the Kuban region, and Karachay–Cherkessia, as well as six cars.
According to prosecutors, the assets were registered in the names of relatives and trusted associates. No documentary proof was provided regarding the origin of the funds used to purchase the assets.
Bugaev is currently under arrest in a criminal case on charges of abuse of office. According to investigators, in 2019, while serving as Minister of Property and Land Relations, he organised a fictitious auction for the sale of assets belonging to the company Teploenergo (‘WarmEnergy’), which had been transferred to the republic’s treasury. Investigators allege that conditions were created to exclude potential bidders, after which the assets were purchased by a company under his control at a reduced price. The losses to the regional budget were estimated at more than ₽16.7 million ($220,000).
When appointing Bugaev to the post of Deputy Prime Minister, the Head of the republic, Rashid Temrezov, wrote that he ‘belongs to the group of young professionals who easily introduce innovations into their work, including through the use of modern information technologies’, and also ‘has solid managerial experience in effective interaction with staff’.
Karachay–Cherkessia has seen a series of corruption cases in recent years. In February 2026, an official was convicted of embezzling ₽5.7 million ($77,000) from the budget, while in December 2025 authorities confiscated ₽240 million ($3.2 million) from a former director of the regional water management authority, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported, without naming them.
In addition, in September 2025 assets worth ₽42 billion ($570 million) were confiscated from former Prime Minister Vladimir Kayshev, including the Pyatigorsk dairy plant, a racecourse, a sanatorium, and 67 land plots registered in the names of his brother and daughter. Also in September 2025, former Deputy Prime Minister Irina Gerbekova lost 15 properties after being accused of embezzling budget funds allocated for medicines and doctors’ salaries. In April 2026, she regained five of those properties after proving that her family’s income had been lawfully documented.
