On July 1, Russia sentenced former Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Timur Ivanov to 13 years in prison on charges of embezzlement and money laundering. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of Great Britain, writes UNN.
Details
As noted by intelligence, he is currently the highest-ranking official of the Russian Federation against whom sentences have been passed on such charges. In addition to him, some other top officials from the entourage of former Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu also came under suspicion.
The British intelligence community believes that the verdict should not be seen as a demonstration of the Russian leadership's intention to seriously fight corruption.
Although the deeply rooted corruption that exists in the Russian Ministry of Defense significantly harms the effectiveness of the Russian army, the goal of the Russian authorities is almost certainly not the complete eradication of corruption; such behavior is necessary for the functioning of the Russian regime. Instead, the Russian authorities are likely trying to limit corruption to more "manageable" levels, where it has less impact on the functioning of the department.
Before his arrest in April 2024, Ivanov was responsible for military construction and procurement, including for the "reconstruction" in the occupied territories of Ukraine.