In the most high-profile case since the start of the country’s all-out war on Ukraine, Russia has arrested Deputy Defence Minister, Timur Ivanov on organised corruption charges.
Ivanov’s arrest comes weeks after Putin called on the FSB services to step up its efforts to root out corruption in state defence procurement.
A brief statement by Russia’s Investigative Committee citing a statute for accepting bribes “on a particularly large scale” said on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, that the arrest was made a day earlier.
On Wednesday, Ivanov, wearing his military uniform, appeared behind a glass cage in a Moscow court, where he was formally arrested and charged with high bribery.
The court remanded him in custody for two months and placed him in the high-security Lefortovo prison in Moscow.
He faces 15 years in jail if convicted.
The Kremlin disclosed that Russian President, Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had been informed about Ivanov, who had been present at a meeting of top defence officials chaired by Shoigu earlier on Tuesday.
The Russian Deputy Defence Minister oversaw military construction and repairs and is accused of taking part in a “criminal conspiracy” in managing contracts that greatly benefitted him personally, reportedly contributing to a lavish lifestyle.
According to a Russian news agency, a man named Sergei Borodin has also been taken into custody on suspicion of complicity in receiving bribes by Ivanov.
Over the years, Ivanov, who was previously hit with US and EU sanctions, has cultivated a reputation for opulence, with Russian media abuzz with reports of his extravagant lifestyle that far surpasses the earnings of a defence official.
In 2022, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which is run by the allies of late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, released the findings of an investigation that found Ivanov and his family had funnelled off millions of dollars to buy property and yachts.
Maria Pevchikh, the Chairwoman of the Anti-Corruption foundation, wrote, “Today is a good day,” in a post on X after news of Ivanov’s arrest was publicised.
Ivanov’s arrest was welcomed by pro-war commentators, who have urged Putin to crackdown on military corruption so that Moscow could wage its war in Ukraine more successfully.
Speculation About Possible Purge Within Moscow’s Elites
Ivanov was widely seen as a long-term confidant of the powerful Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, having worked with Shoigu across various agencies for more than a decade.
The sudden arrest of an ally of Shoigu, who in turn Putin tasked with fighting the war in Ukraine, sparked speculations about a battle within the elite and of a public crackdown on the corruption that has plagued Russia’s post-Soviet armed forces.
Shoigu, Russia’s longest-serving minister, assumed leadership of the defence ministry in 2012 after his tenure as the emergency services minister. Despite facing criticism for military setbacks during the war, he has retained his position and is widely regarded as a trusted figure by Putin.
“It is hard to find an official who has done more for Shoigu than Ivanov,” said a former defence official who spoke on condition of anonymity, having worked directly with Ivanov.
“This is an attack on Shoigu’s standing. But Shoigu has weathered other storms before,” he noted.
Observers suggest that the arrest could signal a shift in the Kremlin’s stance towards ostentatious displays of wealth since the onset of the Ukraine conflict.
Sergei Markov, a conservative Russian political commentator, remarked: “The arrest of Timur Ivanov surprises everyone only because it’s surprising why he wasn’t arrested much earlier.”
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