Former Deputy Defense Minister Ivanov Faces 14.5 Years in Prison for Major Corruption Charges

Russian state prosecutors are requesting a prison term of nearly 15 years for Timur Ivanov, the former Deputy Defense Minister, who faces charges of bribery and embezzlement, as reported by the business newspaper Vedomosti on Monday.

Ivanov, 49, who was responsible for overseeing military construction projects, was taken into custody in April 2024 as part of a broader campaign by the Kremlin aimed at tackling corruption within the Defense Ministry.

Often dubbed the “glamorous general” by Russian media, Ivanov is the highest-ranking military official apprehended since the onset of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He served as deputy minister from 2016 and was regarded as a close associate of former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was removed from his position last May and subsequently appointed as secretary of Russia’s Security Council.

Along with his business associate Sergei Borodin, Ivanov initially faced allegations of receiving 1.19 billion rubles (around $15.1 million) in illicit payments related to Defense Ministry contracts.

In October, prosecutors introduced additional allegations, claiming that Ivanov and his alleged co-conspirators embezzled 4.1 billion rubles (approximately $52.4 million) through overseas bank transactions, as well as 216 million rubles in connection with the procurement of two ferries for the Kerch Strait route linking southern Russia with occupied Crimea.

He is also accused of accepting over 152 million rubles in bribes from Alexander Fomin, a co-founder of the construction company Olimpsitistroy. Ivanov has denied all allegations.

Furthermore, prosecutors are seeking a 14-year sentence for Anton Filatov, another alleged accomplice and former head of the Defense Ministry’s subsidiary, Oboronlogistika.

The proceedings, which have been conducted behind closed doors since March, are expected to reach a conclusion with a verdict in early July, according to Vedomosti.

In 2022, Ivanov was the focus of a prominent investigation by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, established by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which alleged that he personally benefited from reconstruction efforts in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol.