October 20, 2026, 1:43 PMRSSRU

Konstantin Ponomarev

At largeChecked October 18, 2026

Konstantin Ponomarev, born 1971, Moscow. Charges: Article 159 part 4, Russian Criminal Code (Fraud (committed by a group, on an especially large scale or with deprivation of the right to…); Article 174.1 part 4, Russian Criminal Code (Money laundering of funds illegally obtained as a result of committing a crime (by an organized…); “Konstantin Ponomarev's case of promissory notes embezzlement”. Sentence (September 11, 2025): 8 years' imprisonment in a general regime penal colony; previously convicted under Article 159 part 4 applied with Article 30 part 3, Russian Criminal Code; Article 198 part 2, Russian Criminal Code; Article 199 part 2 item b, Russian Criminal Code. Status: at large. Recognition: Memorial Human Rights Centre — recognised as a political prisoner, March 18, 2022.

In brief

Moscow, Moscow Oblast · Moscow · Entrepreneurs

Sentence

8 years 2 months

Imprisonment (general regime)

Sentence changed July 3, 2024

First instance, December 8, 2020: 10 years 2 months

Other verdicts

  • July 8, 2019 — Ten years two months' deprivation of liberty in a general regime colony
  • September 11, 2025 — 8 years' imprisonment in a general regime penal colony

Charges

Full wording of the charges

According to the investigation, he received money from IKEA to his personal accounts and accounts of organisations controlled by him and evaded tax payments in 2010-2012. In 2010-2012, he avoided paying taxes; he failed to pay profit tax and VAT to SAE Ltd; decided to take advantage of the current extraordinary circumstances and created a sham chain of transactions for the transfer of 71 diesel power plants owned by him and deposited with Star Energy LLC controlled by him for their use in Crimea, knowing that his reputation as an unscrupulous participant in civil turnover, known from disputes with IKEA, would not allow him to enter into legal relations with the Ministry of Energy of Russia and its subsidiaries directly; planned to conceal from his counterparties the ownership of the diesel power plant and mislead them about this fact; together with unidentified persons, developed a criminal plan, according to which he made far-fetched, not based on law claims to PJSC "Kubanenergo" for the return of 71 units of diesel power plants belonging to him, bypassing the requirements of the law and abusing his rights; obtained the relevant court judgement on the return of the diesel power plants, after which, using it in a prejudicial manner, filed a statement of claim for recovery of monetary funds from PJSC "Kubanenergo" for the use of the said property and the use of alienated monetary funds in the form of rent and interest on the amount of the debt; planned to steal the funds of Kubanenergo PJSC in the amount of RUB 5.4 billion; realised that he was not a party to the contractual relations, the subject of which was the property belonging to him, and therefore had no right to make demands for payment of rent to persons who were not in contractual relations with him; during the period from March to April 2016. under unspecified circumstances, he executed an additional agreement to the agreement on storage of the power plant from 01.01.2012. According to which he gave his consent to the controlled Star Energo LLC to lease the property belonging to him to NTT-Constructions LLC, established a prohibition to sublease the WPPs owned by him without his consent, established the right to receive payment for the use of WPPs under sublease agreements that were concluded without his consent, determined the jurisdiction of disputes at the place of his location or residence.

Latest event

October 20, 2026 — case status changed

Became known October 20, 2026 · checked October 18, 2026

Recognition by rights defenders

Timeline

  1. · Appeal ruling

    upheld, released from serving the sentence

  2. · Imprisonment begins

  3. · Persecution ends

  4. · Preventive measure: pre-trial detention

  5. · Criminal case opened

    Konstantin Ponomarev's bribery case

  6. · First-instance verdict

    guilty verdict · 14 years

Criminal case

Konstantin Ponomarev's case of promissory notes embezzlement

Case number
01-0061/2025 (01-0378/2024)

There are no other defendants in this case in the database.

Konstantin Ponomarev's false denunciation case

There are no other defendants in this case in the database.

Konstantin Ponomarev's tax evasion and attempted fraud case

There are no other defendants in this case in the database.

Konstantin Ponomarev's bribery case

There are no other defendants in this case in the database.

Details and sources

Full summary

According to OVD-Info

A Moscow resident and entrepreneur. On 27 April 2015, a criminal case was initiated against Ponomarev on charges of tax evasion. On 6 June 2017, cases were opened for knowingly false denunciation and fraud, and Ponomarev was detained. On 9 July 2019, he was sentenced to eight years in a general-regime penal colony in the case concerning false denunciation. On 9 December 2020, in the cases of tax evasion and fraud, he was sentenced, by partial aggregation of sentences, to ten years and two months.

Human rights defenders consider his prosecution to be punishment for attempting to profit from the energy supply of Crimea and a signal to entrepreneurs not to seek recovery of their funds through the courts. On 4 July 2024, due to changes in legislation, his sentence was reduced by two years. However, by that time a new case against Ponomarev — concerning the misappropriation of bank promissory notes — was already under consideration in court. In September 2025, taking into account his previous sentences, he was sentenced to 14 years in a strict-regime penal colony.

Thereafter, the prosecution appealed the sentence, seeking Ponomarev’s release from serving the sentence on the grounds of the expiry of the limitation period. On 23 January 2026, the court of appeal upheld the sentence but released Ponomarev from punishment. However, another case was initiated against him — for giving a bribe to a public official. His lawyer, Roman Eronov, is also a defendant in the case. According to the investigation, they participated in a bribery scheme intended to secure Ponomarev’s deployment to the war.

All fields of the record
Citizenship
Russia
Preventive measures
pre-trial detention
Persecution episodes
4
Sources (1)

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