Shoigu’s deputy, one of the richest people in Russia, risks 15 years in prison for taking a bribe

A Russian court ordered on Wednesday that Timur Ivanov, one of the deputies of the Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu, be kept in preventive detention, being suspected of bribery, this being the most serious case of corruption since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in 2022, reports Reuters, according to News.ro.

Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was detained at his workplace on Tuesday by the Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, for allegedly accepting a sizeable bribe.

On Wednesday, the Basmanni District Court in Moscow ordered that Ivanov be held in custody until June 23. In the images released by the judicial service, 48-year-old Timur Ivanov, dressed in uniform, is shown sitting in a glass cage in front of the court, slightly frowning.

The judicial service stated that: “The investigation finds that Ivanov entered into a criminal conspiracy with third parties, he associated with them in advance to commit a crime set up by an organized group.” The purpose of the conspiracy was to receive “goods and services on a particularly large scale, during contractual and sub-contractual work for the Ministry of Defence”.

Russian media reports that the senior official has denied that he is guilty. He faces 15 years in prison if convicted.

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More details about this case

The sudden arrest of an ally of Shoigu, whom Putin tasked with fighting in the war in Ukraine, has sparked speculation about an infighting within the elite and a public crackdown on corruption affecting Russia’s post-Soviet armed forces.

Some Russian bloggers, who have long accused top generals of incompetence, rejoiced at the apparent downfall of a senior military official long associated with the ostentatious opulence that Putin has made clear he does not want to see it displayed in wartime. Some say the arrest could be a public lesson for the elite, although others say it is a blow to Shoigu, a close ally of Putin and one of the most powerful men in Russia.

The Kremlin said Putin and Shoigu had been briefed. The Ministry of Defense made no comment.

A close friend of Ivanov, Sergei Borodin, was also charged with conspiracy to commit bribery.

Ostentatious wealth

Ivanov, who served as deputy minister since 2016, was responsible for managing property, housing, construction and mortgages at the Ministry of Defense – whose spending has skyrocketed since the start of the war.

“Let’s just say the investigation didn’t start yesterday, the day after yesterday or even a month ago,” an unidentified Russian law enforcement source told the state’s official TASS news agency. Military counterintelligence was also involved, TASS said.

Ivanov has long been the subject of journalistic investigations which claimed that he and his family led a luxurious lifestyle, with visits to the most expensive destinations in Europe and a number of luxury real estate properties. In 2022, the Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation, led by the late Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, investigated Ivanov. She claimed that he and his family lived a life of luxury, including yachts, helicopters, visits to the French Riviera, purchases of diamonds and even a 19th-century villa on one of Moscow’s most elegant streets.

Forbes magazine listed Ivanov as one of the richest people in the security structures in Russia.

Other investigations have claimed that there is corruption in the reconstruction work that Russia is doing in Mariupol, the Ukrainian city on the Sea of ​​Azov that is controlled by Russian forces after being, at the beginning of the war, the scene of one of the most devastating battles.

Last month, Putin ordered the FSB to root out corruption in defense procurement.

Ivanov, who graduated with a degree in mathematics from Moscow State University, rose through the ranks of Russia’s state atomic energy sector before becoming deputy head of the Moscow region government under Shoigu, who was then governor.

Some Russian military bloggers have long accused high-ranking generals of corruption, particularly after the army’s hasty withdrawal from parts of Ukraine after it overextended itself in the early days of the invasion.

“It’s clear that this is a tectonic shift,” said Iuri Podoliaka, one of the most popular pro-Russian military bloggers. “And it’s not about Ivanov. I hope this is just the beginning,” commented the blogger.

Publisher: CS