Two jailed for fraud in Russia's failed Leningradsky housing scandal
A Khabarovsk court has jailed two men for their roles in a failed housing project that left homebuyers without apartments. Ruslan Braga and Anton Melnikov were found guilty of aiding the misuse of 473 million rubles meant for construction. The company behind the project, Leader LLC, later collapsed into bankruptcy.
The case centred on the unfinished Leningradsky residential complex on Leningradskaya Street. Leader LLC had collected payments from buyers but never completed the building. Investigators found that the firm’s director and his associates diverted the funds for personal use.
Ruslan Braga received a sentence of two years and four months in prison. Anton Melnikov was ordered to serve two years in a general-regime penal colony. Both men were taken into custody immediately after the verdict was announced. This is not the first legal trouble for Leader LLC’s leadership. The company’s director had already been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for embezzling investors’ money. The latest convictions follow calls from lawmakers for stricter oversight of developers. Lawmaker Dmitry Demeshin has pushed for new laws that would force developers to meet social obligations. The aim is to prevent similar cases where buyers lose their money and homes remain unbuilt.
The court’s decision closes one chapter in a long-running dispute over the Leningradsky complex. Homebuyers who paid into the project will not recover their apartments or funds. The case has also reignited discussions about stronger protections for property investors in Russia.
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