diff --git a/backend/api/admin.py b/backend/api/admin.py
index b08a83a..4b538b2 100644
--- a/backend/api/admin.py
+++ b/backend/api/admin.py
@@ -33,12 +33,12 @@ from pydantic import BaseModel, EmailStr, field_validator
 from sqlalchemy import func, select
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
-from db.models import Document, Quota, RefreshToken, Topic, User
+from db.models import CloudConnection, Document, Quota, RefreshToken, Topic, User
 from deps.auth import get_current_admin
 from deps.db import get_db
 from services.audit import write_audit_log
 from services.auth import hash_password, revoke_all_refresh_tokens
-from storage import get_storage_backend
+from storage import get_storage_backend, get_storage_backend_for_document
 
 router = APIRouter(prefix="/api/admin", tags=["admin"])
 
@@ -488,7 +488,43 @@ async def delete_user(
 
     _ip = request.headers.get("X-Forwarded-For") or (request.client.host if request.client else None)
 
-    # SEC-09: collect all user documents and delete MinIO objects BEFORE DB delete
+    # SEC-09 (cloud): purge cloud-stored documents and credentials BEFORE DB delete.
+    # Must run before MinIO cleanup so that credentials are still available to build
+    # the cloud backend instances for delete_object calls.
+    cloud_conns_result = await session.execute(
+        select(CloudConnection).where(CloudConnection.user_id == user_id)
+    )
+    cloud_conns = cloud_conns_result.scalars().all()
+    for conn in cloud_conns:
+        # Delete cloud objects stored in this provider for this user
+        cloud_docs_result = await session.execute(
+            select(Document).where(
+                Document.user_id == user_id,
+                Document.storage_backend == conn.provider,
+            )
+        )
+        for doc in cloud_docs_result.scalars().all():
+            try:
+                backend = await get_storage_backend_for_document(doc, user, session)
+                await backend.delete_object(doc.object_key)
+            except Exception:
+                pass  # Best-effort cloud object cleanup; deletion proceeds regardless
+        # Purge the credentials row (FK cascade would also remove it, but explicit
+        # deletion here guarantees credentials_enc is gone before commit — SEC-09)
+        await session.delete(conn)
+    if cloud_conns:
+        await session.flush()  # Flush connection deletes before user delete
+        await write_audit_log(
+            session,
+            event_type="cloud.credentials_purged",
+            user_id=user_id,
+            actor_id=_admin.id,
+            resource_id=user_id,
+            ip_address=_ip,
+            metadata_={"providers": [c.provider for c in cloud_conns]},
+        )
+
+    # SEC-09 (minio): collect all user documents and delete MinIO objects BEFORE DB delete
     docs_result = await session.execute(
         select(Document).where(Document.user_id == user_id)
     )