The reason for the dismissal of the Sverdlovsk "digital" ex-minister has been changed to "loss of trust."

      The former Minister of Digital Development and Communications of the Sverdlovsk Region, Mikhail Ponomarykov, had the reason for his dismissal from the regional government changed to "due to loss of trust." This was reported by the regional prosecutor's office on Friday, April 3.

      The Prosecutor's Office of the Sverdlovsk Region, together with the regional FSB of Russia, checked the implementation of legislation on combating corruption. During supervisory activities, it was established that from 2021 to 2024, more than 9 million rubles were deposited into the bank accounts of close relatives of the former minister of digital development and communications of the region.

      During the inspection, close relatives of the former minister were interviewed, income and expenses were analyzed, information about bank accounts and deposits was reviewed, and the results of a financial analysis conducted regarding the mentioned individuals by the Federal Financial Monitoring Service in the Ural Federal District were studied. The legality of the origin of the funds was not confirmed.

      At the same time, by the decree of the Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region, Denis Pasler, in September 2025, the minister was relieved of his position based on paragraph 2 of part 1 of article 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (in connection with the expiration of the employment contract).

      As a result of the inspection, the prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit in the Verkh-Isetsky District Court of Yekaterinburg to recover funds in favor of the state, the legality of the origin of which was not confirmed, as well as to change the grounds and wording of the dismissal from paragraph 2 of part 1 of article 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (in connection with the expiration of the employment contract) to paragraph 7.1 of part 1 of article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (due to loss of trust).

      The court granted the prosecutor's claim, transferring to the income of the Russian Federation funds amounting to more than 9 million rubles that had been deposited into the accounts of close relatives of the former regional minister.

      The court also ruled to change the wording in the termination of the employment contract to dismissal due to loss of trust.

      Mikhail Ponomarykov took the position of Minister of Digital Development and Communications during the tenure of the previous governor, Yevgeny Kuyvashev, in 2021. After Kuyvashev's resignation and the appointment of Denis Pasler as the head of the region in 2025, Ponomarykov was unable to retain his ministerial portfolio. Mikhail Ponomarykov is a native of Novosibirsk, a graduate of Tyumen State University with a degree in "applied computer science in economics." In 2020, he took the position of Deputy Director of the Department of Informatization and Communications of the Sverdlovsk Region, and in the same year was appointed Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Communications of the Sverdlovsk Region. Ponomarykov reportedly won an open competition for the position of minister, surpassing more than two dozen applicants.