Builder gets suspended sentence for underpass fraud, prosecutor appeals

A company director was given a suspended sentence for embezzling 93 million rubles (approximately $980,000 at current rates) in advance funds for a pedestrian underpass in Krasnodar, but the prosecutor's office has appealed the verdict as too lenient.

Feb 4, 2026

Construction of the pedestrian underpass faced numerous delays and was finished after the original contractor was removed.
Source:
Darya Parashenko / 93.RU

Recall that in Krasnodar on Krasnykh Partizan Street in March 2023, construction began on an underground pedestrian crossing for 109 million rubles (approximately $1.15 million at current rates) near the second regional hospital. However, the construction was planned to start a month earlier and finish in April 2023.

The contract was awarded to AlmaStroy LLC. For the company, this was its first government contract, and it had never previously engaged in such construction. As a result, the company repeatedly missed deadlines. According to official data from the city administration, the cause was unaccounted-for utilities. The agreement was terminated at the end of 2023. The object, which had been repeatedly opposed by activists, was completed by the firm of Krasnodar Krai Legislative Assembly deputy Alexander Karpenko — StroyYugRegion LLC.

AlmaStroy LLC is currently in the process of liquidation.

The underpass was opened in December 2024, and at the same time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that it had completed the investigation of the criminal case. According to the investigation, the 37-year-old director of AlmaStroy, Eldar Nagimulin, stole an advance payment of 93 million rubles (approximately $980,000 at current rates) for the construction of the crossing. He was charged under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code (fraud) and Part 4 of Article 174.1 (money laundering).

The case was transferred to court, where it was established that the defendant spent 16 million rubles (approximately $168,000 at current rates) of budget funds on personal needs. This amount was ordered to be recovered in favor of the state. Eldar Nagimulin was sentenced to a suspended term of three years. The press service of the regional prosecutor«s office stated that the agency disagreed with the court»s decision and appealed it «due to excessively lenient punishment.»

Earlier, 93.RU reported that Alexander Karpenko, whose firm completed the underpass, is suspected of seizing road construction projects in the region along with former State Duma deputy Anatoly Voronovsky and current State Duma deputy Andrei Doroshenko.