Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was arrested on suspicion of taking bribes on Tuesday, marking a rare arrest of a member of the Kremlin's elite.
"Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Timur Vadimovich Ivanov has been detained on suspicion of committing a crime under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code [taking a bribe]," Russia's Investigative Committee said on Telegram on Tuesday evening, without elaborating.
❗️Russia's Basmanny Court arrests Deputy Minister of Defense Timur Ivanov in bribery case
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) April 24, 2024
Ivanov is accused of accepting a particularly large bribe, the Moscow City Court reports.
The investigation believes that Ivanov entered into a criminal conspiracy with third parties, the… pic.twitter.com/wt0gaJCySP
Ivanov, who has been sanctioned by the U.S. and the EU, has held the post of Russian deputy defense minister since May 2016. His role includes asset management, overseeing the construction of ministry facilities, providing medical support for Russia's military, and managing troop housing.
According to Russia's state-run news agency Tass, the section under the Criminal Code under which Ivanov was arrested applies to bribes over 1 million rubles ($10,800).
He is accused of receiving a bribe "on an especially large scale as part of an organized group while carrying out contract and subcontract work for the needs of the military department," the press service of the Moscow City Court told Tass.
Ivanov will be held at a pre-trial detention for a period of two months, until June 23, and if convicted, he faces up to 15 years in jail.
His detention was reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.
The court said it also detained an individual named Sergei Borodin, who is accused of being complicit in receiving a bribe.
"Borodin, being in friendly relations with the Deputy Defense Minister of the Russian Federation Ivanov, who oversaw the construction and major repairs of facilities of the Ministry of Defense, entered into a criminal conspiracy with third parties, teamed up with them in advance to commit an organized group of a crime—receiving a bribe on a particularly large scale in the form of provision of property services during contracting and subcontracting work for the needs of the Ministry of Defense," the Moscow City Court statement said.
X (formerly Twitter) user Dmitri, from War Translated, an independent project that translates materials about the war, said he thinks Ivanov's arrest is a "sensitive attack" against Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
"Without Putin's sanction, such an arrest was impossible. Ivanov is one of Shoigu's 12 deputies," he said.
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Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
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