Rector of St. Petersburg private university to stand trial for legalizing migrants

The rector of a private university in St. Petersburg and two of his alleged accomplices will appear in court on charges of organizing a channel for illegal migration and money laundering. This was reported on January 12 in the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.

"According to investigators, members of an organized group will go to the dock — a 46-year-old rector of a private university in St. Petersburg and two of his alleged accomplices, a 53—year-old businessman and a native of the Middle East state with triple citizenship," the department's Telegram channel says.

The investigation revealed that the suspects were looking for foreigners who wanted to extend their stay in Russia. They were offered to apply for study visas without actually studying at a university and illegally register for migration. According to this scheme, 501 citizens from far and near abroad were legalized from January 2020 to November 2024, the Interior Ministry reports. The criminal business, according to preliminary data, brought the members of the group over 40 million rubles of income, which they legalized through imaginary transactions.

It is noted that all issued fictitious study visas have been canceled, and foreigners are included in the register of controlled persons. The group's activities were suppressed by the joint efforts of the police, the FSB border department and the regional FSB in November 2024. The accused was given a preventive measure in the form of house arrest. The criminal case was sent to the Kuibyshevsky District Court of St. Petersburg.

The news is being updated