It was reported on April 23 that the russian Investigation Committee had detained Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov for two months. He is charged with committing a crime under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the russian federation, namely receiving a large bribe. Some offences under Art 290 are punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Vladimir Putin has been informed of the arrest. Timur Ivanov denies any wrongdoing, the UK Defense Intelligence reports.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has also been informed. Timur Ivanov was a Deputy Prime Minister in the Moscow Regional Government in 2012, when Sergei Shoigu was Governor of Moscow region. It is therefore likely that he has long-standing ties with Sergei Shoigu.
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Timur Ivanov was appointed a Deputy Defense Minister in 2016, and is reported to have played an important role in reconstruction projects in Mariupol. In his income declaration for 2018 it is allegedly indicated that Timur Ivanov owned 22 cars. Reports of Timur Ivanov’s reported luxurious lifestyle sit awkwardly with Vladimir Putin’s call in February in his state of the nation address for a new national elite comprised of the heroes of the war. The Timur Ivanov affair is the most serious scandal to hit the MOD since then Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov was dismissed in November 2012.
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