Russia declares wanted ex-Sverdlovsk deputy minister in corruption case

Former deputy minister of housing and utilities of Russia’s Sverdlovsk region, Sergey Gayda, has been placed on the federal wanted list in a corruption case.

Gayda is accused of acting as a middleman in bribery schemes. Investigators found that in 2020, he coordinated relations between Degtyarsk Mayor Vadim Pilnikov and Sarraff Mamedov, the founder of the company “Zhilie Kvartaly,” Caliber.Az reports via a Russian Telegram channel. 

According to the investigation, the former deputy minister established a corrupt connection between the mayor and the businessman.

Sergey Gayda is the son of Anatoly Gayda, a former adviser to Sverdlovsk Governor Yevgeny Kuivashev. From 2014 to 2019, he held senior positions in the regional government. At the end of 2024, when arrests began in the Degtyarsk corruption case, he left Russia. Ural media reports that he may currently be in Poland.

By Khagan Isayev