Alexei Safonov: Traffic police chief sentenced to 20 years for bribery

Alexei Safonov, the former head of the traffic police (GIBDD) in Stavropol Krai — a major Russian region in the Caucasus area — was sentenced to 20 years in prison on May 12, 2025, by the Cherkessk City Court in the neighboring republic of Karachay-Cherkessia. The case is considered one of the most high-profile police corruption cases in Russia in recent years.

The crime

According to the indictment, Safonov led a systematic and organized bribery scheme in Stavropol Krai. The targets were truck drivers and freight operators who regularly passed through the region. To avoid inspections, fines, and administrative delays, transporters paid money to the network — in effect an illegal toll collected by the very people tasked with enforcing the law.

Safonov was found guilty of establishing and leading this organized crime group. His co-defendants included Alexander Arzhanukhin, a former department chief, and inspector Vitaly Melchikov, along with four civilians. Together, the network ensured that paying transporters could pass through unhindered, while those who refused risked targeted inspections and fines — a system that turned police powers into a tool for personal enrichment.

In international media, Safonov drew additional attention due to reports of a gold-plated toilet allegedly found on his private property — a detail that journalists seized on as a symbol of the wealth attributed to his corruption proceeds.

Investigation and trial

Safonov was arrested on July 20, 2021, marking the start of a lengthy legal process spanning several years. The case was referred to the Cherkessk City Court in Karachay-Cherkessia, a republic bordering Stavropol Krai — a standard Russian procedural practice intended to create geographical distance between the defendant's former power base and the court.

During the investigation and preliminary hearings, details about Safonov's personal finances emerged, including the widely reported gold-plated toilet. Prosecutors originally sought an even harsher sentence than the one ultimately handed down.

Verdict

On May 12, 2025, the court sentenced Safonov to 20 years in a strict-regime penal colony — the most severe form of imprisonment in the Russian criminal justice system, reserved for serious organized crime offenses. He was also fined 100 million rubles and banned from holding any public or law enforcement position for 12 years. The court additionally stripped him of his rank of police colonel.

Safonov was convicted on three counts: establishing and leading an organized criminal group, bribery, and abuse of power. Russian media and observers have described the sentence as one of the harshest ever handed down against a senior Russian police official in a corruption case.

Co-defendants Arzhanukhin, Melchikov, and the four civilians were also charged in connection with the case, but the individual sentences for all co-defendants cannot be confirmed on the basis of available verified sources.

Current status

Safonov has appealed the verdict, and a cassation appeal has been filed. The final outcome of this appeal process cannot be confirmed at this time, and this article will be updated when verified information becomes available.

The case has attracted broad attention — not only as an individual corruption case, but as an example of the systemic problem of abuse of power within Russian law enforcement. Russian outlets including Kommersant have followed the case closely, and international interest reflects the unusual severity and scope of the sentence.