Russian defence ministry: Two days after President Vladimir Putin removed the defence minister in a Cabinet shuffle that stoked fears of further similar purges, a second top Russian defence official was detained on bribery accusations, officials announced on Tuesday.
Russian media stated that on Monday, a raid on the 55-year-old head of the major personnel bureau of the Defence Ministry resulted in the arrest of Lt Gen Yury Kuznetsov at his suburban Moscow residence.
According to the Investigative Committee, the highest state criminal investigation body in Russia, he was arrested on suspicion of bribery and imprisoned pending an investigation and trial.
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Kuznetsov is charged with taking an “exceptionally large bribe,” which carries a maximum 15-year jail sentence.
The committee claimed he took the payment when he was the 13-year-old chief of the military General Staff’s directorate responsible for protecting state secrets.
According to accounts, while he was sleeping, Federal Security Service, or FSB, operatives broke down his windows and doors, taking over 100 million rubles (£872,832) in cash, luxury goods, and gold coins.
His wife was allegedly questioned as well; she had previously worked in several Defense Ministry departments.
As per Irish Examiner, starting his fifth term in office, Putin reorganized his cabinet on Sunday, appointing Andrei Belousov, a former deputy prime minister and economics specialist, in place of Sergei Shoigu, who held the position of defense minister for eleven and a half years.
Shoigu took over as the Russian Security Council’s secretary, a position similar to that of the US national security adviser, in place of Nikolai Patrushev.
A 16-year tenured hawkish and influential member of Mr. Putin’s inner circle, Mr. Patrushev was named presidential aide.
Nominated as a presidential aide was also Alexei Dyumin, the governor of the Tula region and a frequent candidate to succeed Putin.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Patrushev will manage Russian shipbuilding companies in his new position but may eventually take on additional responsibilities.
Rejecting the idea that Mr. Shoigu’s move was a downgrade, he called his new position a “very senior job with broad responsibilities.”
Although Shoigu, who had long-standing personal relationships with Putin and had gone on holidays with him in the Siberian mountains, was appointed to a new senior role, the fate of his tight circle in the Defense Ministry seemed to be in jeopardy.
Timur Ivanov, Shoigu’s deputy, was ordered to stay in detention while an official inquiry was conducted after being arrested last month on suspicion of bribery.
Most people believed that his detention was an attack on Mr. Shoigu and a likely sign of his firing.
Allegations of widespread corruption in the top military leadership led to the shake-up, which looked to be an attempt to tighten control over growing military spending and bring the defence industry into line with the rest of the economy.
