The court has arrested former Sochi judge Valery Sluka.
The Pervomaisky District Court of Krasnodar has arrested former Sochi judge Valery Sluka on charges of abuse of power. Investigators conducted searches of the former judge's homes in Krasnodar Krai and North Ossetia.
As reported by Kavkazsky Knot, in late January 2026, Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin opened a criminal case against Valery Sluka, a retired judge of the Sochi Central District Court. The case involves seven counts of mismanagement of municipal land plots in Sochi. In September 2025, the High Qualification Collegium of Judges upheld the investigation's request to initiate criminal proceedings against Judge Valery Sluka, whose term of office was terminated in 2023 for legalizing illegal construction.
In September 2023, more than 120 buildings in Sochi were declared illegal and subject to demolition. As a result, two judges of the Central District Court resigned, including Valery Sluka. The court's chairman and another judge were stripped of their powers.
According to investigators, from June 23, 2021, to July 8, 2022, a judge of the Central District Court of Sochi, exceeding his official authority, unreasonably accepted citizens' claims for consideration. Without examining the evidence and without involving the defendant's representatives or interested parties, he issued seven knowingly unjust decisions, resulting in the illegal seizure of land plots in the city of Sochi from municipal ownership, the press service of the Investigative Committee for Krasnodar Krai reported today on its Telegram channel.
"At the investigator's request, the court chose a preventive measure in the form of detention for the accused," the agency said in a statement.
He is charged with seven counts of abuse of office and seven counts of making knowingly unjust decisions . The Krasnodar Regional Court overturned the unfounded decisions of the Sochi Central District Court and returned the land plots to city ownership.
Investigators also conducted searches of Valery Sluka's homes in the Krasnodar Region and North Ossetia, seizing items and documents relevant to the investigation, the agency clarified.
Sochi residents have repeatedly complained about the problem of illegal construction in the city. As of early December 2023, 215 buildings were added to the register of illegally constructed apartment buildings in the Krasnodar Krai, more than half of them in Sochi, according to local authorities.
In 2024, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office filed a lawsuit demanding the cancellation of the transfer of land plots to developers on which apartment buildings have already been constructed. This specifically concerns the Morskaya Simfoniya residential complex, which was legalized by the court. This decision was overturned by a higher court, and the judge who made it resigned.
The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that on January 27, Anna Minkova, Vice Governor of Kuban, was detained on suspicion of committing corruption crimes. On January 20, it was reported that Minkova was being investigated for possible involvement in illegal enrichment using public funds.