Russia’s security services have detained Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov on charges of accepting “particularly large scale” bribes.
The high-profile corruption case involves a key figure in Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu’s team. It occurs amid ongoing military operations in Ukraine initiated by President Vladimir Putin in February 2022.
Ivanov, Deputy Minister since 2016 and oversees property management and construction for the defence ministry, was arrested on Tuesday. If convicted, this action by the Federal Security Service (FSB) might result in a 15-year prison sentence.
The arrest has sparked widespread speculation about internal conflict within Russia’s elite and a possible intensification in the public crackdown on corruption, which has historically affected Russia’s military. The Kremlin confirmed that Putin and Shoigu were informed about the arrest hours after Ivanov attended a defence meeting with Shoigu.
Russian media, including Kommersant, reported that the FSB, tasked last month by Putin to combat corruption in state defence procurement, carried out the arrest. Further details emerged suggesting that other individuals might also have been detained and that Ivanov’s properties were under search.
Russian state media has covered this case extensively, indicating the government’s potential intent to address corruption within its ranks publicly. However, the motives behind targeting such a high-ranking official closely linked to Shoigu remain unclear.
Ivanov has been associated with the lavish lifestyle typical of some in the post-Soviet Russian elite. In 2022, the Anti-Corruption Foundation reported that Ivanov’s family lived opulently, a claim that underscores the contradictions within Russia’s leadership. Ivanov’s career before his role in the Defence Ministry included significant positions in Russia’s atomic energy sector and as an adviser in the energy ministry.
