Former Russian Deputy Defense Minister Popov has been detained on suspicion of embezzlement from Patriot Corporation.

Central Asia (CA) – Former Russian Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov has been charged with fraud (Article 159, Part 4, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Report Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.

The investigation revealed that from 2021 to 2024 Popov “was in charge of the development, maintenance and operation of Patriot Park, enriching himself at the expense of the institution, acting together with the park’s director Vyacheslav Akhmedov and Vice President “of the Main Directorate for Innovative Development of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Vladimir Shestrov.”

The Investigative Committee claimed that Popov, at the expense of the Patriot Park, “organized construction and repair work and supplied various material assets to its suburbs”. The investigation also found that the general “forced” the heads of commercial companies that had contracts with the park to “carry out construction and installation work in their rural apartments without paying for them”. In addition, at the expense of the park, Popov “continued technical and economic maintenance of its land of about three hectares”.

“During the investigative operation, it was established that, in addition to the specified housing plots, Popov and his family own a large number of real estate properties in prestigious areas of the city of Moscow, the Moscow Region and the Krasnodar Territory. The total cost of these items exceeds 500 million rubles. The legality of the acquisition of this property is also being verified as part of the criminal case,” the Investigative Committee said.

TASS wrote that Popov had been detained.

Pavel Popov has been Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation since November 7, 2013. He supervised the creation of the Russian Defense Management Center. He was released on June 17, 2024. Almost during this period, the Ministry was headed by Sergei Shoigu (November 2012-May 2024). From 2008 to 2013, Popov served as Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations (Shoigu served as head of the Ministry from 1994 to 2012).

On June 17, Russia’s new Defense Minister Belousov met with Pavel Popov and other dismissed representatives to express his gratitude for their work.

Pavel Popov is the third former deputy defense minister to be detained in recent months. Timur Ivanov was arrested in April on suspicion of taking bribes of 1.2 billion rubles. Army General Dmitry Bulgakov was arrested in July in connection with a particularly large-scale fraud case.