A court in Kuban has seized the homes and lands of Maxim Bondarenko.
The Kuban Prosecutor's Office has asked the court to seize property worth more than 250 million rubles belonging to former district head Maxim Bondarenko, who is known for his lawsuit with a pensioner over a comment about an "arrogant official." The court has seized Bondarenko's houses, land, and cars.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot," on January 20, security forces conducted searches at the home of Maxim Bondarenko, head of the Primorsko-Akhtarsk District, and the following day, the official was dismissed due to a loss of confidence from the Kuban Governor.
The loss of confidence in Bondarenko was preceded by an investigation organized by the governor following information from the prosecutor's office that Bondarenko had been convicted of corruption violations as early as August 2025. According to the prosecutor's office, Bondarenko provided the governor with false information about his income and property and was involved in a conflict of interest during the distribution of a land plot.
The Krasnodar Krai prosecutor's office has filed a lawsuit demanding that the property of the former head of the Primorsko-Akhtarsk district be transferred to the state, the prosecutor's office reported today on its Telegram channel.
The investigation "established the fact that Maxim Bondarenko acquired property with a total market value exceeding 250 million rubles while holding the municipal post of head of the municipality."
The property in question concerns three land plots with a total area of over 3,100 square meters, three residential buildings with an area of over 1,380 square meters, one non-residential building with an area of 118.8 square meters, three cars, and an all-terrain vehicle. The agency listed the sum.
"Given the failure to receive information confirming the acquisition of this property with legitimate income, on January 30, 2026, the regional prosecutor's office filed a claim with the Primorsko-Akhtarsky District Court to transfer this property to the Russian Federation. On February 2, 2026, interim measures were taken in the civil case in the form of a seizure of the aforementioned property," the prosecutor's office reported.
As a reminder, Maxim Bondarenko became famous for his lawsuit with pensioner Margarita Belykh: in 2024, he sued the elderly woman after being offended by her online comments. The Primorsko-Akhtarsky District Court ruled that Bondarenko's comments about an "arrogant official" and the words "he lies like he breathes" were untrue and defamatory. The court ordered Margarita Belykh to delete the comments, publish a retraction, and pay the official 1,000 rubles in compensation for moral damages.
However, Bondarenko was not satisfied with this decision and in 2025 filed a new lawsuit against Belykh, demanding reimbursement of approximately 300,000 rubles in legal costs. The court partially upheld the claim and ordered the 80-year-old pensioner to pay the official 85,000 rubles.