London says arrest of deputy defense minister ‘most serious scandal’ since 2012

MADRID, (EUROPA PRESS) – The United Kingdom Intelligence services indicated this Thursday that the arrest of the Russian Deputy Minister of Defense, Timur Ivanov, for allegedly accepting bribes represents “the most serious scandal” within the portfolio since the dismissal in 2012 of the then owner of the same, Anatoli Serdiukov, later charged with “negligence” and amnestied in 2014.

Ivanov was arrested on Tuesday accused of receiving “large-scale” bribery, which could carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, after which a Moscow court ordered provisional detention for a minimum period of two months on Wednesday.

The British Intelligence services stressed that Ivanov maintained “a luxurious lifestyle” that “collides with the call in February by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin (…) for a new elite made up of the heroes of the special military operation”, referring to the invasion of Ukraine.

They also recalled that Ivanov was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense in 2016 and added that “he played an important role in reconstruction projects in Mariupol”, a city located in the southeast of Ukraine and taken by Russian troops in April 2022.

Finally, they have highlighted their closeness with the current Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu. “He was deputy prime minister of the Moscow regional government in 2012, when Shoigu was regional governor. It is likely that he has ties to Shoigu,” they indicated, according to a statement published by the British Ministry of Defense through its account on the social network. x.

According to the investigation, Ivanov and one of his alleged accomplices, Sergei Borodin, are part of a “criminal conspiracy” with third parties, from which they would have received “large-scale” bribes in exchange for contracting works for the Ministry. defense. Ivanov has categorically denied these accusations and has insisted on his innocence.

Shoigu’s until now ‘number two’ was mainly responsible for construction projects supervised by the Ministry of Defense, including those in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia within the framework of the war. At the end of 2022, an investigation by the foundation of the late Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny reported that Ivanov had profited from construction projects in Mariupol.