Timur Ivanov, a former deputy defense minister of Russia, appeared in court in Moscow on Wednesday, accused of accepting a significant bribe during his time in office. The Investigative Committee of Russia announced Ivanov’s arrest on Tuesday, stating that he is suspected of taking an exceptionally large bribe, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. The court ordered Ivanov to remain in custody until at least June 23.
Investigators presented evidence to the Basmany court on Wednesday, alleging that Ivanov conspired with unnamed individuals to receive a bribe in the form of property services related to contracts for the Ministry of Defense. Additionally, Sergei Borodin, an acquaintance of Ivanov, was taken into custody and charged with the same offenses. Borodin will also be held in custody until June 23.
According to the defense ministry’s website, Ivanov was appointed to his post in 2016 by a presidential decree. His responsibilities included overseeing property management, housing, medical support for the military, and construction and reconstruction of facilities.
The arrest of Ivanov, who was seen attending a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other senior military officials just hours before his detention, comes amid Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian media reported that Ivanov was responsible for some of the construction efforts in Mariupol, a Ukrainian port city heavily bombarded and occupied by Russian forces early in the conflict.
In 2022, the team of the late Alexei Navalny, Russia’s prominent opposition leader and anti-corruption campaigner, accused Ivanov and his family of living an extravagant lifestyle while in office. The opposition activists alleged that Ivanov’s wife, Svetlana, divorced him in 2022 to avoid sanctions and continue enjoying their luxurious lifestyle.
Transparency International, a leading anti-corruption organization, ranked Russia 141st out of 180 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index, placing it alongside Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, and Uganda in terms of perceived corruption levels in their countries.
