MOSCOW: A Russian court docket on Wednesday ordered one among Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu‘s deputies be stored in custody on suspicion of taking bribes, the highest-profile corruption case since President Vladimir Putin despatched troops into Ukraine in 2022.
Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov was detained on Tuesday at work by the Federal Safety Service (FSB), the principle successor to the Soviet-era KGB, for accepting giant bribes.
Moscow’s Basmanny District Court docket ordered Ivanov be stored in custody till June 23. Ivanov, 48, wearing his uniform, was proven standing in a glass cage in court docket, frowning barely, footage launched by the court docket service confirmed.
“The investigation believes that Ivanov entered right into a felony conspiracy with third events, teamed up with them upfront to commit an organised crime by an organised group,” the court docket service stated.
The conspiracy was to obtain “property and providers on a very giant scale throughout contract and sub-contract work for the ministry of defence,” the court docket service stated.
Russian media stated he denied being responsible. He faces 15 years in jail if convicted. State media gave the case full protection.
The sudden arrest of an ally of Shoigu, who Putin tasked with combating the warfare in Ukraine, triggered hypothesis a couple of battle throughout the elite and of a public crackdown on the corruption which has plagued Russia‘s post-Soviet armed forces.
Some Russian bloggers, who’ve lengthy accused senior generals of incompetence, rejoiced on the obvious fall of a prime navy official lengthy linked to the ostentatious opulence which Putin has made clear he doesn’t wish to see displayed in wartime.
Some stated the arrest could possibly be a public lesson for the elite, although others stated it was a blow for Shoigu, a detailed Putin ally and one among Russia’s strongest males.
The Kremlin stated Putin had been knowledgeable, and added that Shoigu had additionally been informed. The defence ministry made no remark. A detailed good friend of Ivanov’s, Sergei Borodin, was additionally charged with conspiring to take bribes.
Ostentatious wealth
Ivanov, who has served as deputy minister since 2016, was accountable for property administration, housing, building and mortgages on the defence ministry – whose spending has spiralled because the begin of the warfare.
“Lets simply say the investigation didn’t begin yesterday, the day earlier than yesterday or perhaps a month in the past,” an unidentified Russian legislation enforcement supply informed the TASS state information company. FSB navy counter-intelligence was concerned, TASS stated.
Ivanov had lengthy been the topic of journalistic investigations which alleged he and his household lived a lavish way of life full with visits to Europe’s costliest boutiques and an array of deluxe actual property.
In 2022, Russia’s Anti-Corruption Basis, headed by the late Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny, investigated Ivanov.
It alleged that he and his household lived a lifetime of luxurious together with yachts, helicopters, visits to French Riviera, purchases of diamonds and even a nineteenth Century mansion on one among Moscow’s most elegant streets.
Forbes journal listed Ivanov as one of many wealthiest males in Russia’s safety buildings. Different investigations alleged corruption in Russia’s reconstruction of Mariupol, the Ukrainian metropolis on the Sea of Azov that’s managed by Russian forces.
Ivanov was unable to remark as he was in detention. Putin final month ordered the FSB to root out corruption in state defence procurement.
Ivanov, who graduated with a level in arithmetic from Moscow State College, rose via the ranks of Russia’s state atomic power sector earlier than shifting to turn into the deputy head of Moscow area’s authorities below Shoigu, who was then governor.
Some Russian navy bloggers have lengthy accused prime generals of corruption, particularly after the military’s hurried withdrawal from elements of Ukraine after over-extending itself in the course of the first days of the invasion.
“It’s clear that this can be a tectonic shift,” stated Yuri Podolyaka, some of the in style pro-Russian navy bloggers. “And this isn’t about Ivanov… I hope that is solely the start.”
Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov was detained on Tuesday at work by the Federal Safety Service (FSB), the principle successor to the Soviet-era KGB, for accepting giant bribes.
Moscow’s Basmanny District Court docket ordered Ivanov be stored in custody till June 23. Ivanov, 48, wearing his uniform, was proven standing in a glass cage in court docket, frowning barely, footage launched by the court docket service confirmed.
“The investigation believes that Ivanov entered right into a felony conspiracy with third events, teamed up with them upfront to commit an organised crime by an organised group,” the court docket service stated.
The conspiracy was to obtain “property and providers on a very giant scale throughout contract and sub-contract work for the ministry of defence,” the court docket service stated.
Russian media stated he denied being responsible. He faces 15 years in jail if convicted. State media gave the case full protection.
The sudden arrest of an ally of Shoigu, who Putin tasked with combating the warfare in Ukraine, triggered hypothesis a couple of battle throughout the elite and of a public crackdown on the corruption which has plagued Russia‘s post-Soviet armed forces.
Some Russian bloggers, who’ve lengthy accused senior generals of incompetence, rejoiced on the obvious fall of a prime navy official lengthy linked to the ostentatious opulence which Putin has made clear he doesn’t wish to see displayed in wartime.
Some stated the arrest could possibly be a public lesson for the elite, although others stated it was a blow for Shoigu, a detailed Putin ally and one among Russia’s strongest males.
The Kremlin stated Putin had been knowledgeable, and added that Shoigu had additionally been informed. The defence ministry made no remark. A detailed good friend of Ivanov’s, Sergei Borodin, was additionally charged with conspiring to take bribes.
Ostentatious wealth
Ivanov, who has served as deputy minister since 2016, was accountable for property administration, housing, building and mortgages on the defence ministry – whose spending has spiralled because the begin of the warfare.
“Lets simply say the investigation didn’t begin yesterday, the day earlier than yesterday or perhaps a month in the past,” an unidentified Russian legislation enforcement supply informed the TASS state information company. FSB navy counter-intelligence was concerned, TASS stated.
Ivanov had lengthy been the topic of journalistic investigations which alleged he and his household lived a lavish way of life full with visits to Europe’s costliest boutiques and an array of deluxe actual property.
In 2022, Russia’s Anti-Corruption Basis, headed by the late Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny, investigated Ivanov.
It alleged that he and his household lived a lifetime of luxurious together with yachts, helicopters, visits to French Riviera, purchases of diamonds and even a nineteenth Century mansion on one among Moscow’s most elegant streets.
Forbes journal listed Ivanov as one of many wealthiest males in Russia’s safety buildings. Different investigations alleged corruption in Russia’s reconstruction of Mariupol, the Ukrainian metropolis on the Sea of Azov that’s managed by Russian forces.
Ivanov was unable to remark as he was in detention. Putin final month ordered the FSB to root out corruption in state defence procurement.
Ivanov, who graduated with a level in arithmetic from Moscow State College, rose via the ranks of Russia’s state atomic power sector earlier than shifting to turn into the deputy head of Moscow area’s authorities below Shoigu, who was then governor.
Some Russian navy bloggers have lengthy accused prime generals of corruption, particularly after the military’s hurried withdrawal from elements of Ukraine after over-extending itself in the course of the first days of the invasion.
“It’s clear that this can be a tectonic shift,” stated Yuri Podolyaka, some of the in style pro-Russian navy bloggers. “And this isn’t about Ivanov… I hope that is solely the start.”
