MOSCOW (AFP): A senior Russian defence official has been detained on bribery charges, investigators announced Tuesday, in the second such arrest within the defence ministry in weeks.
The Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said that Lieutenant-General Yuri Kuznetsov was taken into custody following searches at his residence.
The statement said law enforcement had seized Russian rubles and foreign currency worth the equivalent of $1 million as well as “gold coins” and other “luxury items” during the raids.
Investigators said that Kuznetsov had taken bribes from individuals in the private sector between 2021 and 2023, when he was working with a military body that handles state secrets.
Last month Russia detained Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov on bribery charges in a case that was being followed by President Vladimir Putin, according to state media.
The deputy minister oversaw — and profited from — construction projects in Ukraine’s Mariupol, which fell under Moscow’s control after a months-long siege.
News of the detention on Tuesday came after a shakeup in the defence ministry over the weekend when Putin replaced minister Sergei Shoigu with Andrey Belousov, an economist and technocrat.
