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A Russian court declared former presidential hopeful Boris Nadezhdin bankrupt over past campaign debt, the Kommersant business newspaper reported Thursday.
Nadezhdin, 61, sought to challenge President Vladimir Putin in the March 2024 presidential race on an anti-war platform but was barred from running. Though unsuccessful, his short-lived campaign drew support from Russians opposed to the invasion of Ukraine despite a wartime crackdown on dissent.
In May 2024, Rosenergobank — which itself went bankrupt in 2017 — petitioned a Moscow arbitration court to declare Nadezhdin bankrupt. The politician resigned as a municipal deputy in the Moscow region the following month.
The court ruled that Nadezhdin owed Rosenergobank 77.4 million rubles ($920,500), including interest and penalties, Kommersant reported. His assets have reportedly been seized, except for a personal vehicle.
Nadezhdin told the newspaper that his bank accounts were blocked and that he expected spending limits to be imposed.
According to Kommersant, Rosenergobank’s former owner loaned Nadezhdin $200,000 in 2011 to finance his now-defunct party in that year’s legislative elections. The party, Right Cause, placed last out of seven parties.
Russia’s state-run Deposit Insurance Agency took over the loan after Rosenergobank’s collapse and in May 2024 petitioned the Moscow arbitration court to seek 112 million rubles from Nadezhdin, Kommersant reported.
