Top Russian defence rep jailed for massive bribery scheme

A former senior official from one of the Russian Ministry of Defence’s military representative offices has been convicted of accepting large-scale bribes, according to the Russian Investigative Committee.

The individual, identified as Sergei Bolgarev, was found guilty of accepting a bribe on an especially large scale while overseeing a state defence contract, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian press.

The charges were brought under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Russian Criminal Code.

The court sentenced Bolgarev to eight and a half years in a high-security penal colony. In addition to the prison term, he has been ordered to pay the Russian state over 14 million rubles (approximately $52,200), which investigators determined was illegally obtained income. These funds were recovered through assets previously seized by military investigators, the Investigative Committee noted.

The bribes reportedly came from the director of a factory based in Pyatigorsk, located in Stavropol Krai.

By Tamilla Hasanova