Russia’s top court keeps ex-defence official behind bars

Russia’s Supreme Court has upheld the 13-year prison sentence handed down to former Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov for embezzlement and money laundering.

Ivanov’s lawyer, Denis Baluyev, confirmed the ruling to Izvestia on September 3.

The Supreme Court hearing was held behind closed doors. The court also upheld the sentence against Anton Filatov, a former subordinate of Ivanov and the second defendant in the case.

Izvestia reported on August 7 that the Supreme Court would review Ivanov’s conviction on September 3.

Ivanov was previously sentenced to 13 years in prison after being convicted of embezzlement and money laundering.

He  was detained on April 23, 2024 and charged with large-scale bribery. It turned out that the former Deputy Minister of Defence had concluded various agreements with interested parties in exchange for monetary rewards. For this, the former Deputy Minister of Defence was sentenced to 13 years in prison and fined 100 million rubles ($1.15 million).

By Vafa Guliyeva