The court nationalized the cellular operator in the Tambov region, Lanta. The Prosecutor General's Office accused its co-owner of financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The Oktyabrsky District Court of Tambov satisfied the request of the Prosecutor General's Office and seized the assets of the owners of the cellular operator Lanta, Alexander Zaitsev and Alexander Vasiliev, into the state's income. This was reported by the press service of the courts of the Tambov region.

The Prosecutor General's Office filed a lawsuit in September 2025. The defendants in this case were Alexander Zaitsev, his wife Margarita, Alexander Vasiliev, as well as the Bulgarian association For free Russia association, which was created by Zaitsev. According to the department, after the Euromaidan in Kyiv in 2014, Alexander and Margarita Zaitsev supported the new authorities of Ukraine, and also provided information and material support to participants in protests carried out by Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation.

The prosecutor's office said that Alexander and Margarita Zaitsev moved to Bulgaria in 2017, where they created the non-profit association For free Russia association - the movement "For a free Russia", the chairman of which is former State Duma deputy Gennady Gudkov. Despite the move, Zaitsev, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office, continues to receive income from the activities of the Lanta telecom operator through his business partner Alexander Vasiliev. The prosecutor's office claims that the businessman uses the money received to finance the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In addition to Lanta, the Prosecutor General's Office demanded that the Orange and Tower shopping centers in Tambov, the Berendey recreation center near Tambov and various real estate properties be seized into state income, as well as recognize the defendants as an “extremist association.” The court satisfied the department's demands in full.

Vasiliev, who founded Lanta in 2003 and owns 49% of it, categorically denied the accusations. According to him, Zaitsev, whose share is 51%, never took part in management and was a “passive investor.” Vasiliev notes that he did not know what his partner was spending the dividends on.

In a conversation with Kommersant, Vasiliev said that he would appeal the court’s decision. He said that the court did not allow him to involve his wife and the guardianship authorities in the case, since the subject of the claim included jointly acquired property and the housing of his parents. The court also did not allow him to participate in the consideration of the claim via video link, since he is not in Russia. Vasiliev added that by the court decision he was actually deprived of “the only living space in which he is registered.”