Russia’s deputy defense minister arrested for bribery

Federal investigators have arrested Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov on felony bribery charges. Ivanov has served in the role since 2016.

According to journalist Farida Rustamova, Ivanov is “notoriously one of [Russia’s] wealthiest security elite.” “This is maybe the highest-ranking [criminal] suspect in terms of the state power hierarchy, since the start of the war,” writes Rustamova. She points out that he has worked in different capacities with current Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu since 2012, overseeing numerous major construction projects for the ministry, including the Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces, the Patriot Park theme park, the Vostochny Cosmodrome, and the reconstruction of occupied Mariupol.

In 2022, Team Navalny reported evidence showing that Ivanov owns real estate in and around Moscow that he developed and repaired using Defense Ministry contract workers. A year ago, Ivanova’s wife, Svetlana Zakharova (a well-known “socialite” and businesswoman in her own right), was spotted by Ukrainian journalists vacationing in France.