A Moscow court has ordered the seizure of assets worth 5.5 billion rubles belonging to former First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov and his relatives. Moscow’s Nikulinsky District Court issued the ruling on a claim filed by the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Russian Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti reported.
State media did not cover the ruling. RBC, the Russian business news outlet, had reported in early May that the hearing would be held behind closed doors.
The Prosecutor General’s Office sought to recover assets it said Tsalikov had obtained through corruption, including about three billion rubles held in accounts belonging to Sandora, a contractor for Russia’s Defense Ministry, along with real estate in the Moscow region and North Ossetia.
The lawsuit also named Tsalikov’s children and Vlada Markovskaya, the mother of Rossiyane Markovskaya, who formerly served as press secretary to Sergei Shoigu. According to the lawsuit, Tsalikov had registered an apartment worth nearly 70 million rubles and two parking spaces in her name.
Ruslan Tsalikov worked with Sergei Shoigu at the Emergency Situations Ministry, the Moscow Region governor’s office, and the Defense Ministry. After Shoigu was dismissed from the Defense Ministry in May 2024, Tsalikov also lost his post.
In March 2026, Tsalikov was charged with creating a criminal organization, laundering stolen budget funds, bribery, and embezzlement. He is under house arrest.
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