RT reported that Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, who was arrested on April 23, has been followed by investigative agencies for many years.
According to Russian media, the arrest of senior Russian military officials this week is the result of a long-running corruption investigation. Notably, the court proceedings on April 24 revealed a second suspect in the same case.
Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was arrested in a surprise move on the evening of April 23. Hours earlier, he participated in a top-level meeting at his agency chaired by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The Russian Investigative Committee said that Mr. Ivanov is suspected of “receiving large-scale bribes” – defined in the criminal code as receiving bribes of more than 1 million rubles (more than 10,500 USD).
A law enforcement source from the TASS news agency said that investigators had been following Mr. Ivanov for a long time, “not since yesterday or a month ago.” According to lenta.ru sources, Mr. Ivanov has been followed for at least 5 years.
Initial information said that a number of suspected accomplices were arrested along with Deputy Minister Ivanov. One of the accomplices was brought to court in Moscow on April 24 and the judge ordered him to be detained before trial. The man was identified as Sergey Borodin.
A colonel of the same name was mentioned in the Russian press two years ago. At that time, Colonel Sergey Borodin pleaded guilty in a criminal case related to the embezzlement of large plots of land owned by the military.
Reports say that Colonel Borodin has agreed to testify against other individuals involved in corrupt practices that allegedly lasted more than a decade and caused losses of at least 900 million rubles (9,000,000 rubles). 2 million USD).
Deputy Minister Ivanov has been in charge of civil engineering programs of the Russian Ministry of Defense since 2013. He was appointed deputy minister in 2016.
Mr. Ivanov also served as Mr. Shoigu’s deputy when Mr. Shoigu briefly held the position of Governor of the Moscow region in 2012.
