The Gagarinsky District Court of Moscow has begun hearing the criminal case against the director and staff of the international center for training and testing foreign citizens at the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN). According to investigators, a group of 17 people helped migrants illegally obtain certificates in Russian language, history, and legislation between 2021 and 2024.
According to the case files, the defendants operated in Moscow, Perm Krai, as well as the Moscow, Tula, Samara, and Kaluga regions. During the exams, they provided foreign nationals with correct answers and manipulated the video surveillance system to conceal their actual level of knowledge. Through this scheme, approximately 500 foreign citizens obtained documents necessary for patents, temporary residence permits (RVP), permanent residence permits (VNJ), or Russian citizenship.
In July 2026, a court in Perm sentenced several individuals involved in the case, including a former employee of the center, to 7 years in prison. Currently, a trial is ongoing in Moscow for the center's director, Maxim Alekseyev, and a group of his colleagues. They are charged with organizing a criminal association and facilitating illegal migration.
Experts note that penalties for organizing illegal migration in Russia were tightened in 2024. Those found guilty under this article face up to 10 years in prison, while those convicted of organizing a criminal association face up to 20 years. Similar cases have previously been identified in educational institutions in Yekaterinburg, Omsk, and Veliky Novgorod.
