Russian authorities are seeking to dissolve a charity foundation linked to prominent Kremlin critic and former Yekaterinburg mayor Yevgeny Roizman, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday.
The Justice Ministry’s Sverdlovsk region branch accuses the Roizman Foundation of financial mismanagement, failing to fully comply with its charter and operating from an office that does not match its registered legal address, according to RIA Novosti.
Founded in 2015, the Roizman Foundation supports nonprofit initiatives and assists people in difficult situations in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region.
The organization’s director, Svetlana Kosolapova, linked the liquidation lawsuit to the charity’s ongoing legal battle with the Justice Ministry over previous inspections, according to the Yekaterinburg-based news website It’s My City.
“We’ve been inspected dozens of times at every level, and they found nothing to cling to,” Roizman told journalist Alexei Venediktov.
The Oktyabrsky District Court in Yekaterinburg scheduled the first hearing in the liquidation case for April 2. Roizman vowed that his charity would continue its work despite the legal proceedings.
One of the few remaining high-profile opposition figures still in Russia, Roizman, 62, has faced increasing pressure since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In May 2023, he was fined for “discrediting” the Russian military after posting a YouTube video in July 2022 criticizing the war.
Russia’s Justice Ministry labeled Roizman a “foreign agent” in November 2022.
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