On November 13, 2026, investigative actions took place at the Moscow Financial and Industrial University "Synergy" in a criminal case regarding embezzlement, resulting in the detention of the university's vice-rector, Mikhail Erofeev. This was reported by REN TV and TASS, with further details disclosed by Kommersant. According to the publication, Erofeev is suspected of embezzling funds while fulfilling a state contract; as of the time of publication, he was in a temporary detention center. The university confirmed that investigative actions were indeed carried out, but did not officially comment on the vice-rector's detention.
Investigation's version: 18 million rubles
According to Kommersant, the case is linked to a state contract worth 31.5 million rubles, which Synergy received in 2023. According to the investigation's version, the bulk of the work on creating an online professional development course was completed by subcontractors for 13.5 million rubles. Investigators believe that after the work was accepted, the university received the full contract amount, and the remaining 18 million rubles could have been embezzled or squandered by management. An additional circumstance mentioned by the publication is that the resulting educational courses were, according to the investigation, practically unusable.
University position: work completed, programs 'really worked'
Synergy provided a different picture. The university explained that the investigative actions are linked not to one, but to two state contracts concluded with Rosmolodezh in 2023 and 2024. The university insists that work on both contracts was completed on time and that the educational programs created "really worked": according to the university, over 50,000 people completed the training, and over 36,000 received professional development certificates. The university also assured that it is operating normally and cooperating with the investigation, emphasizing that the criminal case was initiated "by fact" rather than against specific employees, and no charges have been brought against anyone.
What is Synergy
Moscow Financial and Industrial University "Synergy" was founded in 1995 on the basis of the Moscow Higher Banking School; it received state accreditation in the mid-2000s. Currently, it is one of the largest private universities in Russia, which makes the resonance surrounding the case of potential embezzlement of state contract funds particularly significant for the educational sector.
Thus, as of the time of publication, the key facts—the searches and the detention of the vice-rector—are confirmed by several independent media outlets, while the characterization of the actions as embezzlement remains an investigation theory that the university disputes. The final legal assessment will depend on the course of the investigation and the court's position.
