Former Russian Defence Official On Trial For Embezzlement

Former Russian deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov appeared in court on Monday at the start of a high-profile embezzlement trial that could see him jailed for years.

Ivanov, formerly in charge of Russian military construction projects, was arrested in April 2024 amid a wider push by the Kremlin to remove generals and military leaders suspected of corruption.

Prosecutors accuse the 49-year-old of stealing 3.2 billion rubles ($38.3 million) from Moscow-based bank Intercommerz, which collapsed in 2016, and more than 200 million rubles while procuring two ferries to serve Crimea. He denies the charges.

Dubbed the "glamorous general" by Russian media, Ivanov is the most senior Russian military figure to be arrested since the Ukraine conflict began and has had multiple luxury cars and properties seized as part of the investigation.

The ex-official appeared emotionless as he sat in Moscow City Court for the indictment hearing on Monday, wearing jeans and a green cardigan, according to an AFP reporter in the court.

Ivanov is being tried alongside Anton Filatov, the former director of state defence corporation Oboronlogistika, which is owned by the defence ministry.

Both men on Monday pleaded not guilty to charges of embezzlement and money laundering, which carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.

Ivanov's lawyer, Murad Musayev, told the RIA Novosti news agency the charges were "completely groundless".

The Kremlin has stepped up its anti-graft efforts since Russian President Vladimir Putin began his fifth term in office last year.

Many Russians feel frustrated that funds are being misspent at a time of economic austerity and when thousands of soldiers are in Ukraine.

Russian law enforcement has charged more than a dozen military officials and defence sector workers since last year, many of whom were accused of syphoning off for personal gain vast amounts of money allocated for major projects.

Ivanov's family assets, which have been frozen by the Russian court, include 23 luxury and vintage cars, TASS news agency reported, citing court documents.

Law enforcement officers also seized a 2,500-square-metre (27,000-square-foot) mansion, a 420-square-metre bathhouse and a 20-acre (eight-hectare) plot of land, RIA Novosti reported.

Ivanov, who had been deputy defence minister since 2016, was formally sacked in June 2024, two months after his arrest.

He is widely seen as having links to Sergei Shoigu, a former defence minister whom President Vladimir Putin sacked last year.

Ivanov was also the subject of an investigation published in 2022 by the Anti-Corruption Foundation -- created by late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who Russian authorities have declared an "extremist".

It alleged the deputy minister oversaw -- and profited from -- construction projects in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which Moscow captured after a weeks-long siege at the start of the conflict in 2022.

In Russia, anybody who mentions Navalny or his Anti-Corruption Foundation without stating that they have been declared "extremist" is subject to fines or up to four years in prison for repeated offences.