In a high-profile case, Russia’s deputy defense minister has been arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes, authorities said Tuesday.
Russian news agency TASS said Timur Ivanov, one of Russia’s 12 deputy defense ministers, is suspected of taking an especially large bribe worth at least 1 million roubles ($10,730, €10,025) and could face 15 years behind bars if found guilty.
Timur Ivanov, 48, one of Russia’s 12 deputy defense ministers, was sanctioned by both the United States and the European Union in 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine.
According to the defense ministry’s website, Ivanov was appointed to the post in 2016 by a presidential decree and oversaw property management, housing and medical support for the military, construction and reconstruction of facilities.
Russian media claimed that he was in charge, among other things, of some of the construction in Mariupol — a port city in Ukraine’s partially occupied Donestk region which was heavily bombarded and occupied by Russian forces early on in the war in 2022.
Zvezda, the official TV channel of the Russian military, reported in the summer of 2022 that the ministry “is building an entire residential block” in the severely damaged city and showed Ivanov inspecting construction sites.
That same year, Alexei Navaly’s team alleged that Ivanov and his family had been living an extravagant life full of luxurious trips abroad, lavish parties and elite real estate.
Forbes magazine listed Ivanov, an expert in cybernetics and the nuclear industry, as one of the wealthiest men in Russia’s security structures.
He worked in companies dealing with fuel and energy and in the Moscow regional government before joining the defence ministry in 2010. He became a deputy minister in 2016.
Local media quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov saying that a report on Ivanov’s arrest had been presented to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also said Ivanov had been informed of his arrest in advance.
Russian media reports said Ivanov is likely the highest-ranking official to face such charges since the war began.
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