Former academy rector Sinelnikov-Murylev placed under house arrest in bribery case

Moscow's Zamoskvoretsky District Court placed former Russian Foreign Trade Academy rector Sergei Sinelnikov-Murylev under house arrest on October 14. He is accused of accepting a bribe on an especially large scale.

RBC initially reported his detention and the charge, citing two people familiar with the investigation. Interfax subsequently reported the court's announcement that investigators' application for house arrest had been granted.

Sinelnikov-Murylev is charged under Part Six of Article 290 of Russia's Criminal Code. Interfax said he may not leave home, communicate with anyone other than close relatives, or use the internet or communications devices without investigators' permission.

He headed the Russian Foreign Trade Academy from 2007 to 2024 and served as vice-rector of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration from 2002 to 2023. He also worked at the Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy.

In a separate case opened in 2023, investigators linked the allegations to budget funds for research by academy employees. Moscow's Nikulinsky District Court gave Sinelnikov-Murylev a suspended sentence for embezzlement and abuse of office in March 2025.