Russia detains ally of Defense Minister Shoigu for corruption
Russian security services detained one of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu’s deputies on suspicion of taking major bribes.
Russian security services detained one of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s deputies on suspicion of taking major bribes, the highest-profile corruption case since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in early 2022.
Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was detained on Tuesday, according to a brief 22-word statement by Russia’s investigative committee. The statute that the investigators cited for his detention is for accepting bribes “on a particularly large scale.”
He faces 15 years in jail if convicted.
The sudden arrest of an ally of Shoigu, who Putin tasked with fighting the war in Ukraine, triggered speculation about a battle within the elite and of a public crackdown on the corruption which has plagued Russia’s post-Soviet armed forces.
Timur Ivanov at the Basmanny District Court in Moscow on Wednesday.Basmanny District Court press service via APThe Kremlin said Putin had been informed, and added that Shoigu had also been told. Ivanov was present earlier on Tuesday at a meeting of top defense officials chaired by Shoigu.
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