Opposition coalition accused of fraud in Novosibirsk

The Novosibirsk regional Investigative Committee has launched a fraud case against Russia’s Democratic Coalition, a group of opposition politicians aiming to run in the upcoming Novosibirsk elections. The inspection was triggered by accusations from a campaigner tasked with collecting signatures in support of the coalition, who says the group did not pay him for his services, in accordance with his contract.

The investigators also received a statement from the Democratic Coalition claiming that some signature-gatherers had forged some of the signatures. The Investigative Committee issued a statement saying: ”At the moment, we are following up with the statements and conducting all necessary inspection activities.”

Leonid Volkov, the head of the coalition’s campaign headquarters, claimed that a signature-gatherer named Viktor Nikiforov had filed the complaint with the Investigative Committee after coalition campaigners caught him forging signatures.

• For more about the Democratic Coalition, read our special report: *Russia’s Democratic Coalition: The opposition is being barred from elections again. Here’s what you need to know*