Case of ex-deputy governors of Rostov region sent to court

The former deputy governors are accused of fraud and abuse of power in connection with the allocation of subsidies to a meat production company.

Jan 31, 2026

A former deputy governor is among those accused in a major fraud case involving agricultural subsidies.
Source:
Konstantin Rachalovsky / Telegram.org, government of the Rostov region

Materials of the criminal case against three former officials of the Rostov region government and a businessman have been sent to court. The defendants include two former deputy governors of the region.

A former official is charged with facilitating illegal subsidies for meat production companies.
Source:
press service of the government of the Rostov region

The accused are former deputy governors Viktor Goncharov and Konstantin Rachalovsky, as well as businessman Vadim Vaneyev and former deputy of Rachalovsky, Olga Gorbanova.

Vadim Vaneyev, the businessman accused in the fraud case, and former governor Vasily Golubev.
Source:
press service of the government of the Rostov region

According to the prosecutor«s office, they are charged with crimes under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code (fraud) and point »v« of Part 3 of Article 286 (abuse of official powers).

The investigation believes that in 2018, Rachalovsky, who at that time held the post of Minister of Agriculture and deputy governor, together with Gorbanova, facilitated the receipt of subsidies by a group of companies associated with meat production. This refers to the enterprises of Vadim Vaneyev, the founder of the Eurodon agricultural cluster, which specialized in turkey and duck breeding.

The subsidies were intended to cover interest on investment loans, but the financial condition of the companies, according to the prosecution, did not meet the conditions for such support.

«This led to the illegal expenditure of budget funds in the amount of over 155 million rubles (approximately $1.7 million at current rates),» the prosecutor«s office stated.

In 2019, at the suit of VEB.RF, an arbitration court declared all enterprises of the Eurodon group bankrupt, and in March 2020, Donstar LLC was declared bankrupt. In 2021, Vadim Vaneyev himself was declared bankrupt.

The property of the defendants has been seized.

«The case materials against one of the heads of the group of companies have been separated into a separate proceeding, the investigation is ongoing,» the supervisory agency noted.

The case has been assigned to the Oktyabrsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don. The united press service of the courts of the Rostov region clarified that the case has been received but has not yet been registered or scheduled for hearings.

Viktor Goncharov and Konstantin Rachalovsky were detained in February 2025. Goncharov worked as deputy governor in 2010-2014 and 2016-2017, then became first deputy. He also served as ataman of the All-Great Don Host (a Cossack organization). He left the post of first deputy in August 2023, remaining as an advisor to the governor on a voluntary basis.

Rachalovsky began his career in the Aksay district, in 2014 he headed the regional Ministry of Agriculture, and in 2023 he was appointed deputy governor of Vasily Golubev, retaining his ministerial portfolio.