Russian security services detained one of Defence 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 February 2022.
Deputy Defence 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”.
The sudden arrest of an ally of Shoigu, whom 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.
The 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 defence officials chaired by Shoigu.
Ivanov, who has served as deputy minister since 2016, was in charge of property management, housing, construction and mortgages at the Defence Ministry. The Defence Ministry has made no comment.
Russia’s Kommersant newspaper said that Ivanov, 48, was arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the Soviet-era KGB which Putin last month told to root out corruption in state defence procurement.
The Izvestia newspaper said others had also been detained, though there was no official confirmation of that. The newspaper said Ivanov’s properties were being searched. State television gave the case full coverage.
“Let’s just say the investigation did not start yesterday, the day before yesterday or even a month ago,” an unidentified Russian law enforcement source told the TASS state news agency. FSB military counter-intelligence was involved, TASS said. (Foreign Media)
