The second person involved in the case of the head of the personnel department of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Yuri Kuznetsov, was arrested - Leva Martirosyan

The Basmanny District Court of Moscow sent into custody until July 12 Leva Martirosyan, the second defendant in the criminal case of bribery initiated against the head of the personnel department of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Yuri Kuznetsov.

According to the press service of the Moscow courts of general jurisdiction, Martirosyan is accused of giving a bribe on an especially large scale.

The court report states that Kuznetsov knew Martirosyan through military service. In this regard, Kuznetsov allegedly “had a criminal intent aimed at receiving a bribe personally, in the form of other property on an especially large scale” in exchange for “patronage in the service in the interests of the bribe-giver.”

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reported on the morning of May 14 that Yuri Kuznetsov was arrested in connection with the case of accepting a bribe. As stated by the Investigative Committee, the accusation concerns the period 2021-2023, when the military man headed the 8th Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (it deals with issues of the service for the protection of state secrets within the Ministry of Defense).

Searches were carried out at the general's place of residence and registration - more than 100 million rubles (part of the amount in foreign currency), gold coins, collectible watches and luxury items were confiscated from him.

Update. According to Kommersant, Yuri Kuznetsov is accused of receiving a bribe totaling 30.5 million rubles from Krasnodar businessman Leva Martirosyan for assistance in concluding government contracts for the provision of hotel services worth 372 million rubles.

• This is the second high-profile criminal case against the leaders of the Russian Ministry of Defense, which has become known recently. At the end of April, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Timur Ivanov, who oversaw the military-industrial complex, was arrested in Moscow. The general was charged with receiving a bribe on an especially large scale - in the amount of more than one billion rubles.
• On May 12, Sergei Shoigu was removed from the post of Minister of Defense, which he held for 12 years.