Deputy Minister Shoigu was arrested in Russia, he faces 15 years in prison

Russian police investigators detained Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov. He is suspected of accepting a bribe, TASS reported.

The amount of the bribe should have met the category of “particularly large scale”, which means at least one million rubles (roughly 250 thousand crowns). Ivanov faces up to 15 years in prison. Investigators will seek an arrest warrant.

According to the police spokesman, searches are underway at places of residence and employment. As early as Tuesday morning, Ivanov attended a meeting of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense.

Ivanov has been Deputy Minister of Defense since 2016. He was responsible for organizing property management, housing and healthcare for the Russian Armed Forces. His competence also included the purchase of goods within the framework of state defense contracts.

Before joining the ministry, Ivanov was the general director of the military construction company Oboronstroj for three years. Before that, he was the deputy head of the regional government of the Moscow region. The governor of this region at the time was the current Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu, TASS recalled.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had been informed of Ivanov’s detention. Minister Šojgu was also informed in advance.