Overview
- Law enforcement detained first vice-rector Larisa Paseshnikova and chief accountant Yulia Sharkevich after searches at the university, TASS reported.
- The case centers on subsidies from the Labor and Science ministries for research and analytical work that investigators allege were overstated to enrich insiders.
- Searches on December 25 targeted campus offices and staff homes, with accounting records and computer equipment seized, and media earlier reported multiple detentions that authorities have not confirmed.
- In October, a St. Petersburg arbitration court ordered several university buildings returned to the state, and the ruling took legal effect in early December.
- Rector Alexander Zapesotsky’s suspension tied to the property case was lifted when the decision took effect, but he is receiving treatment and management had been handled by Paseshnikova, while prosecutors and tax officials have also flagged luxury spending linked to him in 2023–2024.