The vice-governor of Kuban was arrested in an embezzlement case after announcing his departure for the front.

Acting Vice Governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Alexander Vlasov, announced his resignation due to his departure for the front with the Kuban Cossack Brigade. A few hours later, he was arrested for embezzling funds intended for military personnel.

Alexander Vlasov had been Deputy Governor of the Krasnodar Territory since 2020. At the same time, Vlasov publicly served as the Ataman of the Kuban Cossack Host. The regional administration's press service released the announcement of his resignation this afternoon.

According to the official statement, Vlasov was relieved of his post at his own request due to his decision to travel to the war zone in Ukraine. "I made the decision to join our Kuban Brigade to carry out combat missions for a special military operation," the press service quoted the official as saying.

Within three hours of the publication of Vlasov's resignation, journalists learned that searches were being conducted at his former office. "Searchs are being conducted at Alexander Vlasov's workplace," Interfax-Yug quoted a source in the security forces as saying. The case has been opened "against Vlasov himself," the RIA Novosti source noted.

The case against Vlasov is related to the theft of humanitarian aid intended for soldiers in the combat zone, as well as the theft of "large-scale targeted subsidies for special operation participants," 93.RU reports, citing its own source.

Alexander Vlasov is a veteran of combat operations in Chechnya and Georgia, RBC reports. Vlasov is a native of the region. Since November 2017, he has served as deputy head of the Gulkevichi District, overseeing civil defense and emergency situations, the Cossacks, and interactions with the military and law enforcement agencies. As vice governor, he was responsible for working with the Cossacks and "patriotic education," and Putin appointed him ataman of the Kuban Cossack Host, Russia's largest, in 2021, according to Voice of Kuban. Vlasov's son, Alexander Vlasov Jr., was investigated for fraud in June 2024. He was accused of fictitious employment with the Kuban Host Cossack Society as an honor guard from 2021 to 2023 and embezzlement of 87,400 rubles, Mediazona noted (he has been added to the register of foreign agents by the Russian Ministry of Justice).

Caucasian Knot" also reported that a court in Krasnodar has been hearing the case of former Vice Governor Sergei Vlasov, accused of accepting a bribe, since March. At the end of May, another former Vice Governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Alexander Nesterenko, was arrested on charges of abuse of office a day after his resignation.

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