Russian deputy defense minister arrested over suspected bribery

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov has been arrested on suspicion of bribery, the country’s Investigative Committee announced on Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu have been briefed on the arrest, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ivanov took part in an extended ministerial meeting led by Shoigu that included numerous senior Russian officials and top military commanders.

While the Committee effectively provided no details about the affair, it said that Ivanov is suspected of taking bribes on a large scale. According to the relevant clause in the Russian penal code cited by the Committee, such bribes involve sums of at least 1 million rubles (over $10,500). If found guilty, Ivanov could face up to 15 years behind bars.

Ivanov has been long involved in the country’s energy and construction sectors and has worked at several high-profile state-owned companies. He led the military construction contractor Oboronstroy, a company whose primary purpose is building residential homes for servicemen, between 2013 and 2016. He was then appointed to his current post where he oversees military construction within the ministry.