Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov is considered a confidant of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The real reason for the arrest is believed to be something other than corruption.
Russia has been arrested by the Deputy Minister of Defence Timur Ivanov suspected of corruption. Ivanov was arrested from his workplace on Tuesday.
Ivanov is suspected of taking a particularly large bribe, i.e. more than a million euros. One million rubles is about 10,000 euros.
The maximum penalty for the crime is 8–15 years in prison, and the mildest is a fine of 3–5 million rubles (approximately 30,000–50,000 euros). Ivanov denies his guilt.
Ivanov can be held in pretrial detention for two months, until June 23.
Ivanova accused of accepting bribes in orders for construction contracts and their subcontracting works of the Ministry of Defense. Ivanov's long-time business partner received the same charge Sergei Borodinwho is considered Ivanov's case manager.
The Russian media immediately guessed what the reason might be behind the arrest. Corruption and cronyism are an inseparable part of the interests of the Russian elite, and Ivanovink's broad life has been known for years.
Among other things, the former editor-in-chief of the radio channel Eho Moskvy commented on the matter Alexei Venediktov on his Telegram channel. According to Venediktov, the real reason would be that Ivanov left to compete with the leader of the private army Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin from the “inheritance”, i.e. shares from its projects in Africa.
Prigozhin died in August 2023 when his private plane crashed. He attempted a military coup in Russia on Midsummer Day 2023.
News site Važnye Istori According to FSB sources, instead of accepting bribes, Ivanov will possibly be charged with treason, for which the punishment would be much more severe.
“A bribe is just a reason told to the public. For now, they don't want to talk publicly about treason – the scandal is so big. However, it is about the deputy defense minister,” one of the sources said, according to the site.
President Vladimir Putin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov according to Putin was “aware” of Ivanon's arrest.
Ivanov is so high in the Russian power hierarchy that one can argue that Putin rather ordered the arrest. This is also what the FSB sources of Važnye Istorii website say.
“Putin gave the order after he got us [FSB:n] convinced that it was precisely treason,” says another source.
According to FSB sources, Ivanov's corruption had long been known in the Kremlin. Russian investigative journalism sites had also reported on it years ago, among others Project in 2019 and the late opposition leader To Alexei Navalny anti-corruption organization in 2022.
Ivanova is considered the Minister of Defense in Russia Sergei Shoigun as a shield. Ivanov's arrest could portend a wider purge at the Ministry of Defense.
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