Russia says it completed probe against former deputy defense minister

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia said on Wednesday that it completed its investigation into former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov, who was detained last August over accusations of fraud.

Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said Popov is accused of committing crimes under five articles of the criminal code, particularly accepting a bribe, fraud, illegal possession of weapons, official forgery and abuse of office.

The statement said the probe against Popov found that he, as well as Defense Ministry official Vladimir Shesterov and Vyacheslav Akhmedov, the former director of Moscow’s Patriot Park, committed embezzlement in 2022-2024 by “deliberately entering false information” about construction work performed in the theme park.

Patriot Park is a theme park and exhibition center established in 2014 in the town of Kubinka in the Moscow region, and is themed around Russian military equipment and the Soviet Union's victory in World War II.

Shesterov was sentenced to six years in prison last month, while Akhmedov received a sentence of five years in prison last week.

Petrenko said the investigation found Popov received a bribe of more than 45 million Russian rubles ($560,000) from the general director of a construction company in 2014-2024, and uncovered that he “illegally employed and dismissed employees” of the Patriot Park, causing more than 8 million Russian rubles ($99,530) in damages.

“In order to ensure the sentence in terms of the fine, possible civil claim and other property collections, the defendant's property in the amount of over 100 million Russian rubles ($1.2 million) was seized,” she said.

She said Popov’s home was inspected as part of the investigation, where “illegally stored firearms and ammunition” were seized.

“Items and documents were inspected, forensic examination reports were obtained, and irrefutable evidence was collected that fully confirms Popov's guilt,” Petrenko added.

A number of corruption cases have recently been filed against former and active high-level Russian military officials over suspicions of corruption and embezzlement.​​​​​​​