The mayor of Krymsk remains in custody.

The Krasnodar Regional Court refused to soften the pretrial detention of Krymsk Mayor Yanis Budagov, who was arrested on charges of abuse of power.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Krymsk Mayor Yanis Budagov, previously detained, has been charged with abuse of power during the transfer of a land plot to a local resident. In Krasnodar, the court ordered pretrial detention for Krymsk Mayor Yanis Budagov until February 18, 2026. Budagov did not admit his guilt.

The Krasnodar Regional Court considered the appeal against the ruling of the Pervomaisky District Court of Krasnodar to arrest Yanis Budagov, who is accused of abuse of office (Part 3 of Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

After reviewing the materials presented, the appellate court found that, based on the grounds and motives set out therein, no other preventive measure could be chosen for the accused. Budagov will remain in custody, the press service of the Krasnodar Krai courts reported today on their Telegram channel.

According to investigators, in March 2020, the mayor's office entered into a lease agreement with a local resident for an agricultural plot of land. That same year, amendments were made to the Krymsk general plan, changing the permitted use of the plot to individual housing construction. "In March 2023, the tenant applied to the administration for the aforementioned plot of land to be granted to him for a fee without a tender, stating that the land was used for agricultural purposes. The head of the urban settlement, knowing that he was obliged to refuse the plot's grant without a tender, entered into a purchase and sale agreement, according to which the plot was sold for 5.2 million rubles, while the market value was at least 99 million rubles. Subsequently, a short time later, the man registered his ownership of the plot and, two weeks later, sold it to a developer's representative for 150 million rubles," the investigation's previous version was cited.

According to Kommersant, the criminal prosecution of the mayor of Krymsk is connected to the case of Sergei Les, the former head of the Krymsk district, who was arrested on October 11 during an investigation into abuse of office. 100 million rubles and approximately 10 kilograms of gold were seized from the head of the municipality during his arrest. According to investigators, from January to March 2024, Les instructed a subordinate to enter into land purchase and sale agreements with a specific individual on preferential terms, without bidding, at a price "significantly below market value." On November 25, 2025, Les's arrest was extended by a month. On December 12, 2025, following a lawsuit filed by the prosecutor's office, Les's property was seized by the Russian Federation due to the official's violation of anti-corruption laws.