A developer's conviction in Kabardino-Balkaria has not affected the wait time for housing for orphans.

The court, which toughened the developer's sentence in a case of fraud involving housing for orphans, did not oblige him to return the stolen advance payment to the budget, while orphans in Kabardino-Balkaria have been waiting ten years or more for apartments.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," on November 21, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria toughened the developer's sentence, replacing his suspended sentence with two years and ten months in prison for embezzling nearly 50 million rubles. the convicted man was taken into custody in the courtroom.

The prosecutor's office, which secured a harsher sentence for Rajab Aykham Kamal, the general director of Nedvizhimost-Nalchik LLC and a Syrian immigrant, did not report whether the developer is obligated by the court to return to the budget the 50 million rubles he received under the government contract, which were allocated to him for the construction of housing for orphans. The apartments, which the developer was supposed to deliver to the client no later than December 2022, were never built.

The consolidated list of orphans in need of housing in Kabardino-Balkaria includes 1,502 people. Akhmed Kashev from Chegem said he has been on the waiting list for about 10 years. All this time, he has been living in the dormitory of the construction college where he works. Akhmed is 27 years old and is currently single due to a lack of housing.

Brothers Alexey and Vladimir Sidorov, who live in rented apartments, have been waiting for apartments for over 10 years. Vladimir has a wife and children, while Alexey is not yet married.

Alexey said that he and his brother have twice filed lawsuits and sought compensation from the state for rent. "Every three years, you can file a lawsuit and receive compensation," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Alexey Sidorov added that his lawyer is currently preparing another lawsuit for rent compensation. According to Alexey, he is listed between numbers 200 and 400 on the waiting list. He doesn't know the exact number or how long he and his brother will have to wait for housing. Previously, the republic's Ministry of Education stated that it plans to provide orphans with housing by 2030. Caucasian Knot also reported that Amina Tkhakakhova, an orphan from Nalchik who successfully sued to be placed on a housing waiting list and received assurances from authorities in January 2024 that housing would be provided soon, still has not received the promised housing. Priority was given to orphans who chose to participate in military operations against Ukraine. Temporary accommodation in an adaptation center was offered by the authorities to Bronislav Shinkarev, an orphan and disabled person who won a court case demanding housing. Shinkarev intends to pursue a court order to expedite his place on the waiting list, where he was listed as number 1,100 as of May 2024.

In the spring of 2025, the government of Kabardino-Balkaria declared that orphans would be able to receive payments for housing or mortgage repayments. The payment amount was not disclosed in the announcement, and social media users pointed out that the government's promises are questionable.