MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that ongoing corruption investigations into Russian defence officials involve “serious charges” that will lead to court trials.
A military court in Moscow placed Pavel Popov, a former deputy defence minister, in detention on Thursday on suspicion of fraud in the latest of a string of corruption probes of officials tied to former defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
Asked to comment on the investigations, Peskov said: “Indeed, serious charges are being brought.
“This is the systematic work of law enforcement agencies”, he told reporters. “We cannot talk about more details. Once the investigation is completed, there will be a trial.”
The corruption scandal, the biggest to hit Russia’s defence and military establishment in years, have seen at least a dozen officials detained since April.
In May, soon after the first arrests, President Vladimir Putin unexpectedly removed the long-serving Shoigu as defence minister and replaced him with economist Andrei Belousov in what was widely seen as a move to ensure tighter management of Russia’s vast defence budget and eliminate waste and graft.
All of those under investigation served under Shoigu, who led the defence ministry from 2012 until this May.
Investigators said on Thursday that the case against Popov, who served in the defence ministry from 2013 until June, stems from alleged fraud in relation to the construction of a military theme park near Moscow.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Timothy Heritage)
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