MOSCOW – A former regional governor in Russia received a lengthy prison term Monday after being convicted of stealing public money meant for border security.
Alexei Smirnov, who previously led the Kursk region, was ordered to serve 14 years behind bars following his corruption conviction, according to Russian state media reports.
The sentencing comes as part of a broader criminal investigation targeting multiple former Kursk officials accused of pocketing money allocated for constructing frontier defense systems. The Kursk region sits along Russia’s border, and Ukrainian forces occupied portions of the territory for several months during 2024.
