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Russia’s law enforcers continue to press corruption-related charges against former senior defense officials.
That’s according to the UK Ministry of Defense citing intelligence reports, Ukrinform reports.
“On 7 October 2024, Russian media reported that prosecutors have brought additional charges against former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, who was previously charged in April 2024. The first of these cases involves the alleged embezzlement of 200m roubles ($2m USD) during the procurement of two ships for the Kerch strait ferry line, which have subsequently been damaged during the war. The second is the alleged embezzlement of 3bn roubles ($200m USD) from Interkommerts bank while facilitating or directing the purchase of foreign currency,” reads the report posted on X.
Charges continue to stack up against former senior Russian defense officials, UK intelligence analysts note, adding that this looks like part of a major crackdown on embezzlement by senior officials below executive or cabinet level.
Russian media also reports that eight officials holding general officer ranks have been dismissed from agencies including the Investigative Committee, Ministry of Emergency Situations, and Federal Penitentiary Service.
Media reports speculate that this is due to impending corruption charges.
“If true, this a potential indicator that corruption crackdowns are spreading from their previous narrow focus on the defence sector,” the report concludes.
Earlier, the British Ministry of Defense stated that amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army scrambled to fight against corrupt practices in order to reduce the siphoning of budget funds due to a costly military campaign.
As reported earlier, British intelligence wrote that Ukrainian attacks continue undermining Russia’s military capabilities in occupied Crimea.
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