MOSCOW (Reuters) – A former Russian deputy defence minister went on trial in Moscow on Monday in the first of a series of cases that signal a drive by President Vladimir Putin to stamp out corruption in the armed forces.
Timur Ivanov was arrested in April last year on suspicion of taking bribes. In October, investigators added new charges of embezzling more than $3.2 billion roubles ($38.3 million). He denies the accusations.
While waging a war in Ukraine that is now into its fourth year, Putin is trying to eliminate waste, mismanagement and the siphoning of funds from Russia’s rising defence budget. At least a dozen people have been arrested in the past year in the biggest wave of scandals to hit the military establishment in years.
Ivanov, who had served as a deputy minister since 2016, was in charge of property management, housing, construction and mortgages at the defence ministry. He had long been the subject of journalistic investigations.
The Anti-Corruption Foundation of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny alleged that Ivanov and his family lived a life of luxury including yachts, helicopters, visits to the French Riviera, purchases of diamonds and a 19th century mansion in Moscow. Forbes magazine listed him as one of the wealthiest men in Russia’s security structures.
(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
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