At the trial in the Mamedov case, an employee of the Kirov Oblast representative office in Moscow was questioned.

      The witness who appeared at the hearing was Viktoria Matveeva, an employee of the Kirov Region’s representative office in Moscow. During questioning it emerged that the office had helped organize the region’s booth at the “Russia” exhibition in Moscow in 2023. In particular, it handled transportation of items needed to equip the booth, including footwear for the participants — the “stand staff.”

      As Matveeva explained, they received just over a hundred pairs of shoes and then delivered them to the exhibition site as needed. There were no complaints about either quality or quantity. Newsler.ru had previously reported that the purchase of these shoes is mentioned in Mamedov’s case. According to Ilya Pauzin, the center’s former deputy director, Mamedov allegedly diverted part of the contract funds for purposes other than those intended.

      After Matveeva’s questioning, the prosecutor read the statements of three witnesses who did not appear in court. Among them was Alexander Yezhov, to whom entrepreneur Anna Chibrina transferred part of the contract sum at Mamedov’s direction. According to Yezhov, the money was received by him “as repayment of a debt.”

      Also read were the statements of Valentina Ivanova, chair of the Kirov branch of the Russian Children’s Fund. She said she had taken an interest in the improvement of Apollo Park, where Mamedov, she said, provided volunteer assistance and donated money to the fund.

      After questioning the witnesses, the prosecutor began to read the written materials of the criminal case — including Mamedov’s correspondence with entrepreneurs and the protocols of searches in his apartment.

      Recall that the former official is charged under several articles of the Russian Criminal Code — with embezzlement and fraud (Art. 160 Part 3; Art. 159 Part 3). Earlier, at hearings in Mamedov’s case, the court heard testimony from several witnesses, including the current director of the Center for Tourism Development, Alexey Cheptsov, and the Minister of Sports and Tourism of Kirov Oblast, Sergey Sulik. They confirmed that the institution received budget subsidies to participate in the “Russia” exhibition and that Mamedov may have misled colleagues about the use of the funds.