The Krasnodar Regional Court sentenced Nikolai Gusev, a 27-year-old man originally from Ukraine, to 12 years in a maximum-security penal colony on treason charges. The prosecution centered on video footage of cars parked outside a hotel in Gelendzhik, which investigators allege he recorded on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence services.
The regional court's press service announced the ruling on October 23. Mediazona identified the convicted man after examining video footage of the verdict being delivered.
In addition to imprisonment, the court imposed one year of restricted freedom on Gusev.
According to prosecutors, Gusev traveled to the Krasnodar region on instructions from Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and filmed vehicles in the parking lot of the Brigantina Hotel in Gelendzhik.
Investigators allege that he passed information about the vehicles' models and license plate numbers to his handler.
Russian security agencies claim that Gusev received 100 USDT — units of a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar — as payment for the assignment. The court ordered the confiscation of an equivalent amount.
Russian law enforcement authorities allege that the information was of interest to Ukrainian intelligence services and could have been used to undermine Russia's security.
According to the Krasnodar regional prosecutor's office, Gusev lived in the town of Zuhres in the Donetsk region before his detention.
The available court statements do not disclose when the criminal case was opened or provide details of the evidence. Gusev was placed in custody after his arrest.
The verdict establishes that Gusev was convicted of treason. However, claims about an SBU assignment, the purpose of the filming, and the transfer of information reflect the Russian prosecution's account rather than findings from an independent investigation.