In the Kherson region, the occupation minister of industry and trade, Ivan Safronov, resigned following scandals involving the embezzlement of budget funds.
This was reported by pseudo‑oppositional pro‑Russian media.
He has now been appointed acting Minister of Economic and Investment Policy of the Tambov Region in the Russian Federation.
Safronov’s position was temporarily taken by Georgiy Kirienko.
Pro‑Russian sources note that Safronov’s career advancement occurred despite a series of financial violations related to the illegally created state enterprise “Pallada”. According to documents, in 2023 more than 56 million rubles were supposed to be transferred to the enterprise under a development program, but the money never reached the accounts.
According to journalists, Safronov himself unilaterally redistributed budget funds without approving changes to the budget, which is a violation of Russian law.
Ivan Safronov is originally from the Tambov Region of the Russian Federation. He took charge of the so‑called ministry in May 2023. Prior to that, he served as acting head of the Department for the Development of Industry and Trade of the Tambov Region.