Russian authorities are enthusiastically arresting defense ministry officials appointed under former defense minister Sergei Shoigu. The purpose of these arrests is probably not to eradicate corruption, according to a new report by the UK Ministry of Defense, UNN reports.
Details
According to the report, according to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Major General Alexander Ogloblin was arrested. He is currently in jail for receiving a bribe of 10 million rubles from a telecommunications company for signing a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Earlier, Ogloblin was reportedly sentenced to four and a half years in prison in February 2022 on separate embezzlement charges. He was released early after he testified against his former boss, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Chief of the Main Communications Directorate, Lieutenant General Vadim Shamarin, who was detained in May 2024.
The second arrest of ogloblin shows that the Russian authorities continue to enthusiastically pursue corruption charges against current and former defense officials (appointed under former defense minister Sergei shoigu), even after the first convictions
British intelligence believes that the goal of the Russian authorities is almost certainly not to eradicate corruption entirely; such behavior is fundamental to the functioning of the regime. Instead, the Russian authorities are likely to seek to limit corruption to more manageable levels that do not have as much impact on the functioning of the agency.