The Investigative Committee is completing its investigation into a new bribery case against former Rostov Court Chairperson Zolotareva.
According to media reports, the former head of the Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, Alexei Kudelin, and the former prosecutor of the Proletarsky District, Andrei Agapov, are also defendants in the case.
All three are accused of accepting bribes and participating in a corruption scheme within the region's judicial system.
Investigators believe that in 2022, Zolotareva and her associates were involved in at least seven corruption cases. In exchange for bribes ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of rubles, they pressured judges in various district courts in the Rostov region to make “favorable” decisions. The total amount of bribes, according to the Investigative Committee, was approximately 14 million rubles.
On December 22, 2025, Zolotareva was sentenced to 15 years in prison and a fine of 170 million rubles in another case. Kudelin also remains under investigation for several counts, and investigations are ongoing against several Rostov judges and prosecutors.
