Samara university dean arrested over fictitious enrollment of foreign students

Investigators allege that the lecturer received at least 54,000 rubles through intermediaries to clear foreign students’ academic debts and fictitiously enroll them, helping extend their study visas. Five people are facing charges.

The Samara District Court remanded the dean of a faculty at Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education (SSU SSE) in custody. He is charged with accepting a bribe and organizing the illegal stay of foreign nationals as part of an organized group under Part 3 of Article 290 and Part 3 of Article 322.1 of the Russian Criminal Code. GTRK Samara detailed the case, citing the Investigative Committee’s Samara Region department and the regional court.

Investigators believe that in June 2026 the dean accepted at least 54,000 rubles from foreign nationals through two intermediaries. The investigation alleges that, in exchange, the foreigners’ academic debts were cleared without grounds, while some were formally listed as students at the faculty only. Such enrollment allowed them to extend their study visas and remain in Russia; the case involves, in particular, citizens of Turkmenistan.

Antonova-Ovseenko Street in Samara (archive)

Registration at a dormitory and apartment

According to the Investigative Committee, in November the scheme’s participants fictitiously registered the foreigners at their places of stay—in a university dormitory and an apartment provided by one of the defendants. A criminal case was opened against five local residents, all of whom were detained. Special units of the Russian National Guard took part in the investigative operations, while the Samara Region branch of the Federal Security Service provided operational support.

Kommersant was the first to report the university detention on the morning of November 13. The newspaper said the dormitory in question is on Antonova-Ovseenko Street, while searches and the seizure of documents were carried out at the university.

Two months in custody

The court accepted the investigator’s arguments that the defendant could flee or influence witnesses if released, most of whom are students at his faculty. The dean will remain in custody through January 11, 2027. The ruling has not yet entered into force. The defendants’ guilt can be established only by a court verdict that has entered into force.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0, CC0; archive)

Samara university dean arrested over fictitious enrollment of foreign students