A minister has been detained in Stavropol for allegedly abusing his authority.

Security officials have detained Ivan Kovalev, Minister of Energy, Industry, and Communications of the Stavropol Territory. He is suspected of participating in the leasing of land in Sochi intended for student recreation to a business.

Ivan Kovalev, Minister of Energy, Industry, and Communications of the Stavropol Territory, has become a defendant in a criminal case for abuse of office, Interfax reported.

"The minister has been detained on suspicion of abuse of office," the agency's source said.

He clarified that the criminal case was opened in connection with the leasing of land in Sochi to an entrepreneur that housed recreational cabins for students at one of the region's colleges. The land underneath them was owned by the Stavropol Territory. Having leased property by the sea, a businessman built a four-star hotel there.

The land in question is in the Adler district, which was given to the Nevinnomyssk Chemical Technology College for free and indefinite use in 2021.

Ivan Kovalev, according to investigators, asked the college director to enter into a lease agreement for the cottages with the right individual entrepreneur. The minister himself issued an order approving the lease of the properties for a five-year period to create conditions for student sports. According to the terms of the agreement, the businessman was required to pay 2.8 million rubles annually. The actual market rent per year was 5.7 million rubles, according to Bloknot-Stavropol.

The businessman renovated the existing buildings, added new structures, and opened a four-star hotel there. According to preliminary estimates, damage to the Stavropol budget amounted to more than 17 million rubles.