A top Russian military official who was detained on suspicion of accepting a pay appeared in court on Wednesday, according to court documents who released a speech. He was taken into pre-trial confinement.
Timur Ivanov, 48, one of Russia´s 12 assistant defense officials, was arrested Tuesday night, Russia´s Investigative Committee said in a speech. Aside from stating that Ivanov is suspected of taking an especially big reward, a crime punished by up to 15 years in prison, they provided no further details.
Investigators told Moscow’s Basmany court on Wednesday that Ivanov had conspired with other parties to obtain bribes in the form of unknown home services” through outsourcing and contracting work for the needs of the Ministry of Defense,” according to a declaration from the judge.
Vladimir Putin ( C), Sergei Shoigu ( R ), and Timur Ivanov ( L), the deputy defense minister of the Russian Federation, are seen on September 19 at the military park in Kubinka, outside of Moscow, in this pool photo released by Russian state-owned media Sputnik. According to the Russian Investigative Committee on April 23, 2024, Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was detained by Russian law enforcement on fear of taking money. ( Photo by Alexey NIKOLSKIY / POOL / AFP ) / ** Editor’s note: this image is distributed by Russian state owned agency Sputnik ** ( Photo by ALEXEY NIKOLSKIY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images )
An acquaintance of Ivanov’s, identified as Sergei Borodin, was likewise arrested and ordered into prior- test detention on the same costs, court officials said in a separate speech. The two men will be in police custody until at least until June 23.
According to the security ministry´s site, Ivanov was appointed to the article in 2016 by a presidential edict. He oversaw home control, housing and medical assistance for the military, construction and reconstruction of services.
Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who was quoted by Russian state news organization RIA Novosti as saying that both President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu were informed about Ivanov’s arrest, which comes as Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine is in its second season.
Ivanov was seen with Shoigu and another top military brass before his arrest on Tuesday night.
According to reports from Russian media, he was responsible for some of the building in Mariupol, a port town in the half occupied Donestk region of Ukraine, which was intensely bombarded and occupied by Russian forces at the start of the 2022 conflict.
In the summer of 2022, the ministry of defense reported that the government “is building an entire home wall” in the heavily damaged area and that Ivanov was seen inspecting construction sites.
The team of the late Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most renowned opposition leader and anti-corruption campaigner, claimed that Ivanov and his family had been leading lavish lives, including lavish vacations abroad, lavish parties, and elite real estate, in the same year. The opposition activists claimed that Ivanov’s wife Svetlana avoided sanctions and continued to live the lavish lifestyle after divorce.
Commenting on the detention of Ivanov on Tuesday, Navalny’s ally Maria Pevchikh said on X, formerly Twitter:” It’s a good day today”.
