Former deputy defense minister Timur Ivanov appeared in court Monday for the start of a high-profile embezzlement trial that could result in him spending years behind bars.
Ivanov, 49, who oversaw Russian military construction projects, was arrested in April 2024 as part of a broader Kremlin crackdown on military officials suspected of corruption.
Prosecutors accuse him of embezzling 3.2 billion rubles ($38.3 million) from Moscow-based bank Intercommerz, which went under in 2016, and over 200 million rubles during the procurement of two ferries for Crimea.
Dubbed the "glamorous general" by Russian media, Ivanov is the most senior Russian military figure arrested since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Authorities have seized multiple luxury cars and properties linked to him during the investigation.
Ivanov is being tried alongside Anton Filatov, former director of the state defense corporation Oboronlogistika, a subsidiary of the defense ministry. Both men pleaded not guilty to charges of embezzlement and money laundering, which carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Ivanov's lawyer, Murad Musayev, dismissed the charges as "completely groundless," according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
Since last year, Russian law enforcement authorities have charged over a dozen military officials and defense sector workers, many accused of diverting funds meant for key projects.
Court documents show Ivanov's family assets, now frozen, include 23 luxury and vintage cars. Law enforcement also seized a 2,500-square-meter mansion, a 420-square-metre bathhouse and a 20-acre plot of land, according to RIA Novosti.
Ivanov, who served as deputy defense minister since 2016, was officially dismissed in June 2024, two months after his arrest. He is widely believed to have connections to Sergei Shoigu, the former defense minister dismissed by Putin last year.
In 2022, Ivanov was the subject of an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded by the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny. The investigation alleged Ivanov profited from construction projects in Mariupol, a Ukrainian city captured by Russian forces after a months-long siege.
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