One of the Russian Deputy Defense Ministers, Timur Ivanov, was detained by the Russian authorities on Tuesday due to corruption. The investigative committee did not reveal details in the case, only saying that the deputy minister could have accepted a particularly large amount of bribes, for which he could receive up to 15 years in prison.
Russian news agencies quote Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said about the deputy minister’s arrest that the case was also presented to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as
Defense Minister Sergej Sojgu was notified in advance of the arrest of his deputy.
The deputy minister arrested for corruption was one of the richest security officials
The 48-year-old Ivanov is one of the 12 deputy defense ministers, so he was added to the US and European sanctions list after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine.
The corrupt official previously worked for fuel and energy trading companies and the Moscow municipality. He started his career at the ministry in 2010 and became deputy minister in 2016. According to Forbes magazine, he is one of the richest people in Russian security organizations.
On the Tuesday before his arrest, a photo appeared in the Russian press where he can be seen at a ministerial meeting chaired by Soigu, reports The Guardian.
His arrest is the highest-level prosecution of a Russian leader since the beginning of the war. Ivanov was also the subject of an investigation published by an anti-corruption organization linked to the deceased Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny. In it they claimed that
the deputy minister was one of the beneficiaries of Mariupol’s reconstruction.
According to the anti-corruption organization banned in Russia on charges of extremism, Ivanov divorced his wife in order to evade EU sanctions.
