Russian Defense Official Arrested for Bribery: Timur Ivanov Scandal

A senior Russian defense official has been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes. This is what the Russian state media writes. It is about Timur Ivanov, one of the twelve deputy defense ministers.

Ivanov was placed on the sanctions list by the United States and the European Union shortly after Ukraine invaded Ukraine.

The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti writes, based on Kremlin spokesman Peskov, that Defense Minister Shoigu has now been informed that his confidant has been arrested.

Before becoming deputy minister in 20216, Ivanov was already working closely with Shoigu. For example, he was the deputy governor of the Moscow region when Shoigu became the governor of that region in 2012. Soon after, he followed Shoigu to the Ministry of Defense.

No details were provided about the amount of bribes Ivanov allegedly took, and for what.

In his role, Ivanov oversees, among other things, real estate projects and the construction of the Russian army, writes the AP news agency, and, according to Russian media, he also oversaw construction projects in a port city Ukraine of Mariupol. .

Mariupol was occupied by Russia in May 2022, after the port city was largely destroyed by heavy bombing.

The Russians began to build residences on the land that was destroyed shortly after living in the city. President Putin visited last March personally another construction site in Mariupol.

At the end of 2022, Ivanov was in the news as a result of an investigation by the anti-corruption agency against leader Alexei Navalny, who died in February.

That investigation showed that Ivanov led a luxurious life, while he couldn’t afford it​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ The investigation suggests that Ivanov may have earned a lot from construction projects in Mariupol. It is not clear whether he has now been arrested for this reason.

Ivanov faces a prison sentence of up to fifteen years.