Authorities reported Tuesday, days after President Vladimir Putin replaced the defence secretary in a Cabinet shake-up and amid fears of additional department purges, that Russian authorities had arrested another top Defense Ministry official on suspicion of bribery.
The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top law enforcement system, wrote in a speech that Lt. Gen. Yury Kuznetsov, the captain of the ministry´s key personnel department, was arrested on charges of corruption and placed in prison pending investigation and test.
Putin Replaces Long- Time Soviet Defence Minister Sergei Shoiguhttps: //t. co/LCsAPoHOWQ
— Breitbart London ( @BreitbartLondon ) May 13, 2024
Kuznetsov is accused of accepting a sizable reward, a crime that could lead to up to 15 years in prison, according to the statement. The official’s home and other properties were searched, the Investigative Committee reported, and the authorities seized gold coins, luxury items and 100 million rubles ( just over$ 1 million ) in cash.
Sergei Shoigu was appointed minister of Russia’s Security Council on Sunday in a Cabinet reshuffle that came as he began his second term in office. He proposed Andrei Belousov, a major financial official, to get over as defence minister. Some people anticipate Belousov to carry out additional massacres.
Belousov´s election needs to be approved by the lower house of Russia’s parliament, but it is commonly seen as a politeness.
Shoigu´s assistant, Timur Ivanov, was arrested last quarter on corruption charges and was ordered to remain in custody pending an official research. Despite having close personal relationships to Putin, Ivanov’s arrest was widely seen as an assault on Shoigu and a potential precursor to his departure.
Soviet Deputy Defence Minister Arrested on Suspicion of Taking Bribehttps: //t. co/aoty6rsVnO
— Breitbart London ( @BreitbartLondon ) April 24, 2024
Shoigu has been widely recognized as a vital figure in Putin’s decision to enlist Russian forces in Ukraine. Russians had anticipated that the operation would quickly destroy Ukraine’s far smaller, less-equipped army, and that Ukrainians would generally accept Russian troops.
Rather, the conflict sparked an extreme defence, which included the Russian army’s humiliating blows, including the flee from Kyiv’s capital and a battle that led to Moscow’s forces leaving the Kharkiv region and the southern city of Kherson.
