Corruption allegations against Ivanov
Russian deputy defense minister arrested
April 23, 2024, 9:47 p.m
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One of Russia’s Defense Minister Shoigu’s deputies is accused of accepting bribes. 48-year-old Timur Ivanov has now been arrested. Kremlin opponent Navalny, who died in custody, had already accused him of unfair methods in 2022.
More than two years after the start of the war, one of several deputy defense ministers was arrested in Russia. Timur Ivanov is suspected of accepting bribes, Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Telegram. The authority did not provide any details. The state agency TASS reports that he is accused of accepting bribes of at least one million rubles, or at least a little less than 10,000 euros. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
According to media reports, Ivanov, who has held the post since 2016, was primarily responsible for construction projects in the Defense Ministry – including in the occupied eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which Russia’s army itself completely destroyed during the siege in the first months of the war in 2022.
Navalny accused Ivanov two years ago
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has a total of twelve deputies. After the start of the war, allegations of corruption against the 48-year-old Ivanov had already been made by the team of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who has since died in custody: In research published at the end of 2022, the Kremlin opponents accused Ivanov of having the construction of real estate in several Russian regions by contractors Have the Ministry of Defense financed.
Other investigative media outlets have also exposed corruption schemes by the Russian Defense Ministry as part of the reconstruction of Mariupol. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said after the arrest that Putin and Shoigu had been informed.