Samara court sentences transport college official for bribery

A former head of correspondence at a Samara transport college has been convicted for accepting bribes from students, with the court detailing the amounts involved.

Jan 31, 2026

Zubkova gave grades to students for money, but no one actually checked the students« knowledge.
Source:
Press service of the Middle Volga Linear Department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for Transport

The Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Samara sentenced the former head of the correspondence department at a transport college. Yekaterina Zubkova was accused of taking bribes.

«In 2023 and 2024, the head of correspondence at the Samara College of Railway Transport received bribes from students. She entered positive grades in record books and statements without actually checking the level of knowledge. Students gave her bribes totaling over 1 million rubles (approximately $11,000 at current rates),» according to data collected by investigators from the Central Investigative Directorate of the Russian Investigative Committee.

Yekaterina Zubkova was found guilty of petty bribery. She was sentenced to five years in prison. The former head of correspondence at the Samara College of Railway Transport will serve the term in a general regime correctional colony. Also, the woman will have to pay a fine of 130,000 rubles (approximately $1,430). Zubkova was banned from teaching activities for two years.

According to the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Samara, the last hearing in the case took place on Wednesday, 21 January 2025.

«Moreover, the court confiscated the illegally obtained funds to the state budget,» added representatives of the Volga Transport Prosecutor«s Office.

The 58-year-old head of correspondence at Samara State University of Railways was detained on April 3, 2024. Employees of the Middle Volga Linear Department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for Transport caught the former manager red-handed: while at her workplace, she received an illegal monetary reward from a student in the amount of 345,000 rubles (approximately $3,800) and kept the funds in her office. On May 29, 2025, the case materials were sent to court.