High-ranking Russian military official arrested on corruption charges

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia's Investigative Committee announced on Thursday that former First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov was detained as part of an investigation into a criminal case concerning the creation of a criminal organization.

Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement that Tsalikov held the post from Dec. 24, 2015, to June 17, 2024, and it was during this period that he engaged in the activities he is accused of -- taking bribes and money laundering.

The grounds for initiating the case were materials gathered jointly by the Federal Security Service, the Investigative Committee, and the Main Directorate for Economic Security and Anti-Corruption of the Internal Affairs Ministry, she said.

According to Petrenko, Tsalikov was interrogated three times in connection with the initial criminal case against his former colleague Timur Ivanov, a former first deputy defense minister who was sentenced to 13 years for particularly large-scale embezzlement.

Moscow's Basmanny District Court said in a separate statement that it placed the official under house arrest. All the articles with which Tsalikov was charged under are considered particularly serious, carrying a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Commenting on the case, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he saw the news about Tsalikov's detention and the charges brought against him, but was not aware of the details.