Russia arrests dy defence minister on bribery charge

Moscow, April 24

A top Russian military official arrested on suspicion of accepting a bribe was sent to pre-trial detention on Wednesday after appearing before a court in central Moscow, court officials said in a statement.

Timur Ivanov, 48, one of Russia’s 12 deputy defence ministers, was arrested Tuesday evening, Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement. It gave no further information, apart from specifying that Ivanov is suspected of taking an especially large bribe — a criminal offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

According to a statement from the court, investigators told Moscow’s Basmany court on Wednesday that Ivanov had conspired with third parties to receive a bribe in the form of unspecified property services “during contracting and subcontracting work for the needs of the Ministry of Defence”. — AP