Russia arrested businessman for bribing Deputy Minister of Defense

The court said that Mr. Alexander Fomin, co-founder of the construction company Olimpsitistroy, was placed on suspicion of bribing Deputy Defense Minister Ivanov and his close associate Sergei Borodin.

According to court information, Mr. Fomin has a trusting relationship with the Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia and is suspected of providing a number of free services to Mr. Ivanov, Mr. Borodin and others.

“In addition, Mr. Fomin and a number of other individuals acted as an organization to help Mr. Ivanov receive a huge bribe in many illegal forms,” ​​the court said.

Mr. Ivanov’s scandal is spreading more and more and has become the worst scandal for the Russian Ministry of Defense since the conflict with Ukraine broke out in February 2022.

Business newspaper page Kommersant said investigators suspected Mr. Ivanov had received kickbacks from Mr. Fomin after helping this private company win contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

This official still affirms his innocence after being arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service at work on April 23. If convicted, Mr. Ivanov will likely face up to 15 years in prison.

Mr. Timur Ivanov was once a close ally of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. State news agency TASS Citing well-informed sources, Mr. Shoigu dismissed Deputy Minister Ivanov immediately after his arrest. Investigation agencies confiscated all assets and blocked all banks of Mr. Ivanov and his family.