Deputy head of the Russian General Staff accused of fraud

The investigation charged Colonel General Khalil Arslanov, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, with major fraud. He pleads not guilty, Interfax reports, citing a source.

According to the REN TV channel, Arslanov is accused of complicity in the theft of more than two billion rubles in public procurement. This information has not been officially confirmed.

On October 12, Kommersant reported that Arslanov was involved in a case of fraud in the purchase of special equipment for the armed forces of the Russian Federation. The publication claimed that they took a written undertaking not to leave and proper behavior from a high-ranking military man.

Kommersant wrote that the military counterintelligence learned about the fraud from the testimony of the former general director of Voentelekom Alexander Davydov and his alleged accomplices, who entered into pre-trial agreements with the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office. In relation to Davydov, they are investigating the case of embezzlement of about 500 million rubles in the performance of state contracts concluded with the Ministry of Defense.