According to reports, the chief of staff at the Russian Ministry of Defense has been arrested on charges of bribery.
The bribery arrest of Yuri Kuznetsov, a deputy general in charge of human resources at the Defense Ministry, marks the widening of the biggest government scandal in years corruptiontwo days after the president Vladimir Putin suddenly removed him Sergei Shoigu from the position of Minister of Defense.
The State Investigative Committee announced that Kuznetsov is suspected of “accepting a particularly large-scale bribe.”
“According to the investigation, in 2021-2023, as the head of the 8th Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Kuznetsov accepted bribes from representatives of commercial structures to perform certain actions for their benefit,” the Investigative Committee said.
At least five people have been arrested in connection with the scandal, the first being Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov in April 2023 on the same charge.
Shoigu was abruptly removed from his post on Sunday and given a new role as secretary of Russia’s Security Council. He is to be replaced by Andrei Belousov, an economist and former deputy prime minister.
Putin’s appointment of Belousov, who has no military background, is seen by analysts as part of a strategy to improve the effectiveness of Russia’s war economy as its military seeks to push further into Ukraine during the third war year.
Reuters points out that, judging by the arrests, the strategy includes eliminating corruption in the awarding of huge military contracts.
According to unconfirmed reports from two authoritative Russian war bloggers, two other deputy defense ministers resigned before Shoigu’s removal.
Cash, gold and watches
Investigators announced that, in searches of Kuznetsov’s properties, they discovered the equivalent of more than one million dollars in rubles and foreign currencies, as well as gold coins, watches and luxury goods.
Kuznetsov could not be reached for comment. The charges against himself and Ivanov, the former deputy defense minister, carry up to 15 years in prison.
Ivanov denies allegations that he accepted $11 million in bribes in the form of services from a construction company in exchange for being awarded contracts.
According to newsit, last week a Moscow court rejected appeals against their detention by Ivanov and his friend, Sergei Borodin, who is also accused of conspiring to receive bribes.
The others arrested are Alexander Fomin, a co-founder of a construction company who allegedly took the bribes, and Anton Filatov, a former head of companies under the Ministry of Defense who is suspected of large-scale embezzlement.
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