British Intelligence highlights reasons behind recent arrests of Russian military officials
Illustrative photo: military leaders arrested in Russia (Getty Images)
Recently, Russia has been arresting defense industry officials and others in an attempt to control widespread corruption in the country, according to the UK Ministry of Defence on Twitter (X).
As reminded by the intelligence agency, on October 18, three individuals were sent to pretrial detention in Russia. They are suspected of embezzling property worth approximately $2.5 million, belonging to the Russian Ministry of Defense. One of the suspects was a former head of the property management department of the Main Directorate of Military Support.
Additionally, former Deputy Director of the Russian National Guard, Sergei Mileiko, was separately accused of corruption. He allegedly purchased military uniforms worth $4.2 million at inflated prices.
"Arrests in criminal proceedings against Defense and Defense Industry officials have continued apace since spring 2024, as Russian investigative authorities almost certainly attempt to achieve a level of control over the massive scale of corruption in the Russian defense sector, for both practical and demonstrative political reasons," stated British intelligence.
It was also reported today that a judge from the International Criminal Court, Haikel Ben Mahfoud, has been arrested in absentia in Russia.
This judge issued arrest warrants for former Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, who are suspected of war crimes.
