Russian minister who was sacked from his role 'flees to the US' amid fraud probe as he becomes first high-ranking official to 'escape' Putin's regime

By TARYN KAUR PEDLER, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:35, 3 May 2026 | Updated: 16:44, 3 May 2026 A Russian minister has become the first high-ranking official to escape Vladimir Putin's regime after allegedly fleeing to the US amid a fraud probe. Denis Butsaev, 49, has reportedly managed to escape the country after being fired from his position as Deputy Minister of Natural Resources. He was reportedly sacked on April 22 by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The minister is believed to have made the trip to the States on the same day, although the exact date he left the country is yet to be confirmed. Butsaev travelled to Minsk, Belarus, before making the journey to Tbilisi in Georgia, and then to America.  During his daring alleged escape, he seemingly managed to evade the FSB - Putin's feared security services. The former minister was forced to flee the country amid a growing investigation into reported top-level corruption, as per The Moscow Times. The fraud probe is understood to involve Butsaev and other high-ranking figures at the Russian Environmental Operator – a government agency he previously led until 2025. Denis Butsaev, 49, has reportedly managed to escape the country after being fired from his position as Deputy Minister of Natural Resources During his daring alleged escape, he seemingly managed to evade the FSB - Putin's feared security services It is not clear whether he was facing any charges. Butsaev's success in his alleged escape has made him the first person of his stature within Putin's regime to flee. Reports have confirmed that the high-ranking official does not face any Western sanctions. Before joining the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry in 2025, Butsaev served as CEO of the Russian Environmental Operator, a government-sponsored enterprise created in 2019 to manage the Kremlin’s national waste management reforms. It comes after Ukrainian foreign secretary Dmytro Kuleba said he knew of an American spy in the Kremlin who may have alerted the White House to Russia‘s preparations for a full-scale war in Ukraine, before February 2022. There are no confirmed reports or accusations of Butsaev being a US spy. It comes after a pro-Kremlin influencer with 13 million followers issued a direct warning to Putin over Russia's economic crisis. Victoria Bonya, a former reality TV star, posted an extraordinary 18-minute video address to the Russian president, telling him the public is ready to 'snap'. 'People are afraid of you,' she told Putin in rare criticism. 'Ordinary people are afraid, bloggers are afraid, artists are afraid. Governors are afraid of you.' Despite her previous unctuous backing for Putin and his long war, Bonya, 46, claimed the Kremlin leader is receiving false reports from officials and has no real understanding of the hardship facing Russians. She warned him: 'The most frightening thing is that this is happening because you, Vladimir [Putin], do not know what is going on in the country. 'You are not being given accurate information.' Her criticism echoes some experts who say Putin has surrounded himself with yes-men and those who are too intimidated to challenge him, as well as corrupt oligarchs who face ruin if his policies change. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.