Two high-ranking military officers detained in Russia over multi-million embezzlement - ISW
Illustrative photo (Getty Images)
Yesterday, August 5, Russian authorities detained Vyacheslav Akhmedov, the head of the Patriot Park under the Russian Ministry of Defense, and Vladimir Shesterov, Deputy Head of the Innovation Development Department, for allegedly embezzling over 40 million rubles, citing the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The funds were reportedly embezzled during procurement for the aforementioned park, and additional suspects may emerge in the case.
Patriot Park was a personal project of former Defense Minister and current Secretary of the Security Council, Sergey Shoigu. Timur Ivanov, Shoigu's former deputy who oversaw the park's construction, was also recently detained.
A Russian military blogger suggested that the arrests of Akhmedov and Shesterov indicate a diminishing influence of Shoigu within the Kremlin.
Additionally, a Russian insider source, which had previously correctly predicted several command changes in the Ministry of Defense, speculated that recently dismissed former Deputy Defense Minister General of the Army Pavel Popov could be the next to face arrest.
Arrests and detentions within Russian military
At the end of July, former Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov was arrested in Russia on corruption charges.
The Russian government appears to be conducting a purge within its defense industry. The UK Ministry of Defense has reported that the Kremlin is intensifying repressive measures against those who are insufficiently politically protected.
ISW also reported on the detention of Dmitry Peshkov, a commander of the occupying forces, likely due to failures on the frontline.
