Detention of Shoigu's deputy: British intelligence tells what is known about him

In its new review, the UK intelligence agency analyzed the activities of Russian Deputy Defense Minister  Timur Ivanov, who is accused of bribery. UNN reports this with reference to the review of the British Ministry of Defense, published on April 25. 

Details

On April 23, it became known that the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation detained Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov for two months. He is suspected of committing a crime under part 6 of article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, namely, taking a large-scale bribe. He faces up to 15 years in prison. 

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Putin has been informed of the detention. Ivanov denies any wrongdoing.

According to the British Ministry of Defense, Ivanov was a deputy prime minister in the government of the Moscow region in 2012, and Shoigu was the governor of the region at the time. British intelligence suggests that they have close ties.

Ivanov was appointed deputy defense minister in 2016 and reportedly played an important role in reconstruction projects in the temporarily occupied Mariupol.

His 2018 income tax return allegedly shows that Ivanov owns 22 cars. 

"Reports of Ivanov's lavish lifestyle are awkwardly combined with Putin's February address to the nation calling for a new national elite to be created from the heroes of the 'special military operation,'" the British Ministry of Defense said. 

According to British intelligence, the Ivanov case is the most serious scandal in the Defense Ministry since Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov was fired in November 2012.

According to a source of UNN, the detention and arrest of Deputy Defense Minister Shoigu Timur Ivanov was made possible by the work of the active action unit of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.