A judge of one of the Rostov courts is suspected of buying his position.

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The investigation suspects Elmira Ponomareva of bribing the former chairperson of the Sovetsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, Elena Kobleva, for her appointment as a justice of the peace.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on December 4, the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, requested consent from the High Qualification Collegium of Judges of the Russian Federation for the criminal prosecution of five judges of the Sovetsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, including one arrested in 2024. Elena Kobleva's year.

Former judge of the Sovetsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, Elmira Ponomareva, against whom the head of the Russian Investigative Committee is seeking permission to initiate a criminal case, is suspected of illegally acquiring a position, Kommersant reported on December 4.

The Investigative Committee suspects Ponomareva of bribing Elena Kobleva to obtain an appointment as a justice of the peace. She is the only one of the five judges Alexander Bastrykin appealed to the High Qualification Collegium of Judges (HQCJ) regarding whom she is accused not of bribery, but of bribery (Part 5 of Article 291 of the Russian Criminal Code), Interfax reports.

Previously, the High Qualification Collegium of Judges (HQCJ) of Russia approved the arrest of Elena Kobleva, former chairperson of the Sovetsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, and in July 2024, the Moscow City Court remanded Kobleva in custody. She is accused of accepting a large bribe (Part 5 of Article 290 of the Russian Criminal Code). According to investigators, a Rostov businessman gave Kobleva 500,000 rubles in exchange for a ruling to return his boat and fishing nets, which had been seized. In November 2025, the Supreme Court changed the jurisdiction of Kobleva's case, and the trial was transferred to the Kuban Regional Court.