RKN employee gets four-year suspended sentence for donating 1,500 rubles to FBK. Prosecutors had sought six years in prison

An employee of Roskomnadzor was given a four-year suspended sentence for donating 1,500 rubles to FBK. Prosecutors had sought six years in prison

Moscow’s Izmailovsky District Court sentenced 48-year-old Chief Radio Frequency Center lead programmer Leonid Stepanov to four years suspended in a case over donations to FBK totaling 1,532 rubles 43 kopecks, writes Mediazona.

The prosecution had asked for a real six-year prison term.

The case against Stepanov under the article on “financing extremism” was opened in May of this year. Investigators believe that after FBK was banned in August 2021, the man made two transfers in favor of the organization. During the investigation, he was under house arrest.

According to bank statements, before FBK was banned Stepanov transferred a total of 2,000 rubles to the organization. In testimony read out in court, he said he had followed Alexei Navalny’s activities since 2020 and believed he was supporting his “legal political activity.”

In court, Stepanov fully admitted guilt and repented. The defense submitted his awards to the case file, including a Roskomnadzor commendation “For conscientious work” and a commemorative badge “For dedication to the profession.”

🔵According to Mediazona’s estimates, by April 2026 at least 225 criminal cases had been opened in Russia over donations to FBK. Courts handed down 167 verdicts, and 24 people received real prison terms.

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