Fraud with bunkers, theft and corruption. The purge at the Ministry of Defense led to more than 20 criminal cases, the damage exceeded 6.5 billion rubles
Over the past four months, 11 criminal cases have been opened related to theft, fraud and bribes among employees of the Ministry of Defense and their contractors. In several cases, the defendants, according to investigators, inflated the cost of materials, stole money, cut down forests illegally, or received bribes for patronage in government contracts. As a result, the courts handed down sentences in 6 cases, including long prison terms for several defendants. The total damage from these crimes amounted to more than 2.1 billion rubles. In total, since the arrest of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, more than 20 similar cases have been initiated, and the amount of damage amounted to more than 6.5 billion rubles.
Cases at the investigation stage:
Fraud during the construction of the Ministry of Defense communications center
Person involved: Roman Bezrukov, General Director of ERSM Siberia LLC.
The essence of the case: In the period from May 2021 to March 2023, Bezrukov, according to investigators , together with other unidentified persons, carried out fictitious financial transactions under the guise of purchasing materials and providing services. These actions led to the theft of budget funds in the amount of almost 1 billion rubles during the construction of a communications control center for the Ministry of Defense. Part of the funds (993.8 million rubles) was transferred to shadow financial circulation.
Investigation: Conducted by the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Damage: 993.8 million rubles.
Roman Bezrukov
Bribe for patronage in state defense procurement
Person involved: Alexander Ogloblin, former head of the 1st Directorate of the Main Communications Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.
The essence of the case: Ogloblin is accused of receiving a bribe on an especially large scale. In the period from 2016 to 2021, he received more than 10 million rubles from representatives of the Perm telephone plant Telta for patronage in the execution of a multimillion-dollar state defense order for the supply of communication devices to the Ministry of Defense.
Investigation: Conducted by the Main Military Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia.
Damage: not specified.
Alexander Ogloblin
Timber for fortification scam
Persons involved: Vladimir Shishov, former deputy director of the Department of Military Property of the Ministry of Defense, and businessman Dmitry Levchenko.
The crux of the matter: Shishov is accused of organizing the purchase of wood for trenches and dugouts at inflated prices from Levchenko’s company. The damage to the budget amounted to 27 million rubles. The total damage from Shishov’s actions is estimated at 600 million rubles.
Investigation: Conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB of Russia.
Damage: 600 million rubles.
Theft during the execution of government contracts
Person involved: Denis Mikhailov, head of Lenbythim.
The crux of the matter: Mikhailov, according to investigators , inflated the cost of materials and raw materials by 115 million rubles, which caused damage in the execution of defense orders for Voentorg JSC.
Investigation: The case was initiated in December 2024.
Damage: 115 million rubles.
Denis Mikhailov
Abuse of authority during the construction of a Moscow State University dormitory
Person involved: Andrey Spirin, director of the Promhydromekhanizatsiya company.
The crux of the matter: Spirin is suspected of having directed 45 million rubles of budget funds intended for government contracts of the Ministry of Defense in 2022 to renovate the Moscow State University dormitory in the interests of a third-party company. However, no contracts for the work were concluded.
Investigation: The case is being led by military investigators.
Damage: 45 million rubles.
Fraud involving multimillion-dollar contracts for components for military equipment
Persons involved: Alexander Molodchenko (General Director of JSC 31 State Design Institute for Special Construction of the Ministry of Defense), Ivan Maltsev (head of Elbro LLC), Olga Pavlova.
The essence of the case: From April 2023 to November 2024, Molodchenko, according to investigators , ensured the conclusion of two multimillion-dollar contracts between the institute and the companies Elbro LLC and NPP Khimmash-Start OJSC for the supply of components for military equipment at inflated prices. This led to the theft of budget funds amounting to more than 50 million rubles.
Charge: On November 12, all defendants were charged with fraud.
Damage: 50 million rubles.
Alexander Molodchenko
Receiving a bribe for privileges during the execution of a state defense order
Persons involved: Ivan Populovsky, head of military representative office 4924 of the Ministry of Defense, and Grigory Zorin, his subordinate.
The essence of the case: Populovsky and Zorin are accused of receiving bribes in the amount of more than 11 million rubles from representatives of two companies - OJSC All-Russian Research Design Institute of Cable Products and CJSC Trading House All-Russian Research Design and Technological Institute cable industry." For this money, they ensured unhindered acceptance of military products and privileges in the execution of state defense orders.
Investigation: Conducted by the Investigative Committee of Russia.
Damage: 11 million rubles.
Cases in which verdicts were reached:
Fraud in the construction of bunkers for the Ministry of Defense
Persons involved: Dmitry Pipko, former deputy general director of Atlas LLC, Andrey Epifantsev, former general director of M-Stroy LLC, Alexander Andreev, businessman.
The essence of the case: The court decided that the defendants overestimated the volume and cost of materials that existed only on paper during the construction of secret underground facilities for the Ministry of Defense. Andreev was not present at the trial; he entered into a contract with the Ministry of Defense during the trial, disappeared at the front and is listed as missing.
Sentence: Pipko and Epifantsev were sentenced to 7 and 3 years in prison, respectively.
Damage: not specified.
Forest theft under the guise of sanitary felling
Person involved: Dmitry Kurakin, former head of the Department of Property Relations of the Ministry of Defense.
The crux of the matter:According to investigators , Kurakin organized the illegal felling of healthy forests under the guise of sanitary measures. The timber was sold to China, and areas with felled trees were given to businessmen for landfills. Kurakin's actions caused significant damage to the state.
Sentence: On November 25, the court sentenced Kurakin to 17 years in prison.
Damage: not specified.
Dmitry Kurakin
Theft of 300 million rubles during the execution of a government contract
Persons involved: Vyacheslav Shustov, Konstantin Savostyanov and Sergey Belov - general directors of commercial organizations.
The essence of the case: In the period from 2018 to 2021, the accused, according to investigators , inflated the cost of work and forged documents when executing contracts within the framework of state defense orders, stealing more than 300 million rubles.
Verdict: On November 21, the court sentenced Shustov to 9 years, Savostyanov and Belov to 6 years in prison each.
Damage: 300 million rubles.
Receiving a bribe for concluding a government contract
Person involved: Evgeny Makeev, former head of the government procurement department of the Ministry of Defense.
The essence of the case: Makeev was accused of receiving a bribe in the amount of 1.8 million rubles from the director of the Metallist plant, Sergei Chervyakov, for concluding a government contract. The funds were transferred through intermediaries, and Makeev’s actions were classified as a corruption crime.
Sentence: On November 13, Makeev was sentenced to 4 years of suspended imprisonment.
Damage: not specified.
Criminal cases against employees of the Ministry of Defense and their contractors from April to August 2024 :
Timur Ivanov - Deputy Minister of Defense, supervised construction contracts and property relations in the Russian Defense Ministry at the Ministry of Defense. Charge: Receiving a bribe on an especially large scale (Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Damage: more than 2.18 billion rubles.
Dmitry Bulgakov is a former deputy minister of defense who oversaw the logistics of the Russian army. Charge: Embezzlement or embezzlement on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code). Damage: 1.3 billion rubles.
Yuri Kuznetsov is the head of the main personnel department of the Ministry of Defense. Charge: Receiving a bribe on an especially large scale (Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Damage: not specified.
Vadim Shamarin - Head of the Main Communications Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General. Charge: Receiving a bribe on an especially large scale (Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Damage: more than 240 million rubles.
Vladimir Verteletsky is the head of the Department of the Russian Ministry of Defense for Providing State Defense Orders. Charge: Abuse of official powers in the implementation of a state defense order (clause “b”, part 2 of article 285.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Damage: not specified.
Ivan Popov - former commander of the 58th Army of the Russian Armed Forces, major general. Charges: Fraud on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and forgery of official duties (Part 2 of Article 292 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Damage: 105 million rubles.
Andrey Belkov is the former general director of the Military Construction Company (VSK). Charge: Abuse of official powers in the execution of state defense orders (clause “b”, part 2 of article 285.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Damage: more than 240 million rubles.
Sergey Sukhov is the former head of the Construction Department of the Central Military District branch of VSK. Charge: Fraud on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Damage: not specified.
Vladimir Pavlov is the general director of Voentorg JSC. Charge: Fraud on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Damage: more than 400 million rubles.
On December 16, a board of the Ministry of Defense was held , at which the head of the Ministry of Defense Andrei Belousov stated that the level of spending on national defense in Russia reached 6.3% of GDP, which is 32.5% of the federal budget. He announced the creation of an efficiency improvement department in the department.
Belousov thanked his predecessor Sergei Shoigu for the development of the military department. Operators of federal channels at that moment showed the assistant to the President of Russia Nikolai Patrushev and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev smiling widely. Russian propaganda Telegram channels drew attention to this. They also note that Shoigu was absent from the speakers at the congress of the United Russia party, which he co-founded, a few days ago. In 2021, Sergei Shoigu, at the request of Vladimir Putin, headed the federal party list in the State Duma elections. After the arrest of Timur Ivanov in the spring of 2024, there was no longer a single mention of Shoigu on the United Russia website.
Fraud with bunkers, theft and corruption. The purge at the Ministry of Defense led to more than 20 criminal cases, the damage exceeded 6.5 billion rubles • The Insider • RIMA — Russian Independent Media Archive
