Former Deputy head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Kuban Simonenko received 14.5 years in prison for attempted murder

On November 13, the Proletarian District Court of Rostov-on-Don announced the sentence to the former deputy head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Krasnodar Territory Sergey Simonenko – he was sentenced to 14.5 years in prison. He will serve his sentence in a strict regime colony. Simonenko was also deprived of the special rank of colonel of internal service.

The case was considered in Rostov-on-Don not by chance: earlier, the Fourth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction transferred the materials to this court in order to exclude the possible influence of interested persons. The Prosecutor General’s Office explained that Simonenko’s extensive connections among high-ranking officials in Kuban could cast doubt on the impartiality of the proceedings in the region.

Simonenko was accused of particularly serious crimes against the person - in the organization of two attempted murder, including against a person who was in a helpless state, as well as in the preparation of a contract murder for selfish motives (Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to the investigation, in the disclosure of criminal schemes helped former subordinates of the ex-official, as well as victims and witnesses. Simonenko was arrested on July 31, 2024.

In addition to criminal prosecution, economic measures were applied to the former employee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations: in April 2025, on the suit of the Prosecutor General’s Office, property and money of Simonenko and his family for a total amount of 360 million rubles were seized in the state income. The supervisory authority established that he used his official position for illegal enrichment, and to hide real income, issued assets for relatives and confidants.

Symonenko’s career path in the regional Emergencies Ministry lasted more than 20 years: he served since 2003, in 2018 he was dismissed due to his age, but later challenged this decision and returned to the service. In 2022, he was appointed head of the technical support department, in 2023 - deputy head of the governorate, and shortly before his detention, he temporarily served as head of the regional department of the department, TASS reports.