Two former Russian “government officials” in Donetsk arrested on suspicion of embezzlement

Former deputy “heads of government” of the Donetsk “republic”, heads of the “government office” of the “republic” are suspected of embezzlement on a large scale or by an organised group through abuse of power.

As reported in messages of the Russian official Telegram channel Courts of General Jurisdiction of Moscow, the Basmanny Court granted the investigator’s request for a preventive measure for Denis Tsukanov and Denis Petkun in the form of house arrest.

The day before, on 12 December, local media reported that Tsukanov had been detained in Omsk, Russia, where he worked as the deputy governor and minister of digital development and communications of the Omsk region.

Both arrested men are Russians who had careers in Russian government agencies until 2022. Tsukanov was appointed to Donetsk in October 2022, immediately after Russia annexed the occupied parts of four regions of Ukraine.

He worked there until May 2023, when he was replaced by Denis Petkun, who had previously been Tsukanov’s deputy in the “government office”. Petkun was dismissed in June 2024.

The Telegram channel of Moscow’s courts of general jurisdiction informed that “according to the investigation, Petkun and other persons embezzled budget allocations from the republic’s budget”.

Previously, it was reported that three “officials” of the Donetsk “republic” will be tried in Moscow for looting. They are accused of stealing and selling the property of the Mariupol-based Azovelectrostal plant for scrap metal.