The case of General Ivanov. How the former deputy head of the Ministry of Defense became accused of taking bribes worth a billion

The court found the former Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Timur Ivanov guilty in the case of embezzlement of funds from the bank "Intercommerce" and embezzlement of money when buying ferries for the Kerch ferry. He was sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony and fined 100 million rubles. For many years, Timur Ivanov oversaw the work of the military construction complex of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, including the restoration of Mariupol, and was responsible for the military mortgage. He was considered one of the wealthiest Russian security officials and was even included in the Forbes list in 2019. Read more about what Ivanov is accused of, who else is involved in his case, and what assets the general has, in the Izvestia article.

What is Timur Ivanov accused of?

• In April 2024, former Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Timur Ivanov was detained at his workplace on suspicion of accepting a bribe worth 1,185 billion rubles. His property, including transport and real estate, as well as accounts, were seized after his detention. Timur Ivanov was charged under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Receiving a particularly large bribe"). According to investigators, the former deputy Minister of Defense entered into a criminal conspiracy with the heads of contractors working at the facilities of the Ministry of Defense, and concluded contracts with them in return for illegal personal remuneration.

• A little later, the investigation opened another criminal case against Ivanov, charging him with two episodes of embezzlement on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code) and one episode of money laundering (part 4 of Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code).

• In 2015, Ivanov, who was then the head of Oboronstroy, attracted Anton Filatov, the head of Oboronlogistics, who was directly subordinate to him, Alexander Bugaevsky, chairman of the board of the soon-to-be-collapsed Intercommerce Bank (wanted and arrested in absentia), and another group of people to steal part of the bank's funds allocated for the purchase of two ferries for the Kerch ferry to circumventing sanctions. According to the Investigative Committee, over 216 million rubles were stolen.

• In addition, Ivanov was accused of embezzling €45 million in 2016 (3.9 billion rubles at the exchange rate of that time) and legalizing these funds. According to the investigation, the money was withdrawn from the bank "Intercommerce" by issuing fictitious contracts for the purchase and sale of currency. The Deposit Insurance Agency, which became the legal successor of the "collapsed" bank, and representatives of the Oboronstroy company filed lawsuits in the amount of more than 4 billion rubles.

• TASS law enforcement sources explained that the FSB had been collecting materials on Timur Ivanov for five years based on witness testimony and the results of operational activities. The arrest operation was being prepared by the FSB and the Investigative Committee of Russia. After his arrest, Ivanov and his lawyers asked the court three times to soften his measure of restraint, but he refused to make a deal with the investigation.

Who else is being investigated in the Timur Ivanov case

• In addition to Ivanov and Filatov, Ivanov's friend Sergei Borodin is on trial, he is accused of taking a particularly large bribe. According to the Izvestia source, Borodin had previously been detained in the framework of a criminal case on embezzlement of land by the Ministry of Defense and sent under house arrest. Then he signed a pre-trial cooperation agreement and testified against Ivanov. The source also noted that it was Borodin who oversaw the construction of Ivanov's apartment building in the Tver region and established Volzhsky Bereg LLC, on whose lands the house was built. A penthouse in the Kadashevsky Chambers residential complex is also decorated in Borodin's name.

• Alexander Fomin, co-founder of Olympcitistroy LLC, became another person involved in the Ivanov case, and he is accused of paying bribes to Ivanov. According to investigators, he provided property-related services to Ivanov, Borodin and others, relieving them of the obligation to pay for goods, works and services related to the repair or reconstruction of buildings. According to RBC, Olympsitystroy was a contractor for a military construction company that carried out orders from the Ministry of Defense. Ivanov supervised her activities, for example, she was involved in construction in Mariupol.

• Andrei Belkov, the ex-head of the VSK, was also involved in the fraud involving the state contracts of the Ministry of Defense related to Ivanov. He is accused of purchasing medical equipment for the medical center of the Ministry of Defense at inflated prices. We wrote more about the Belkov case here.

The verdict in the Timur Ivanov case

• The Moscow City Court found the former deputy Defense Minister guilty in the case of embezzlement of funds from the bank "Intercommerce" and embezzlement of money when buying ferries for the Kerch ferry. He was sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony, a fine of 100 million rubles, deprivation of state awards and the title of Honored Builder of the Russian Federation. Ivanov himself reacted to the verdict with a smile.

• The second defendant, Anton Filatov, a former subordinate of Ivanov, received 12.5 years in a penal colony and a fine of 25 million rubles. In addition, the court recovered 216 million rubles from Ivanov and Filatov in favor of the General Directorate of Military Equipment (GUOV) and 3.9 billion rubles in favor of the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA). In addition, the court turned all the property of Ivanov and his family into state income: apartments, cars, land plots and cash.

What is known about Timur Ivanov

Timur Ivanov was born on August 15, 1975 in Moscow. After graduating from the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics at Moscow State University and the International Academy of Marketing and Management, he worked in the fuel and energy complex, served as an adviser to the Executive Director of FSUE Rosenergoatom Concern, was Vice President of Atomstroyexport CJSC, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of INTER RAO UES, and in 2009 became CEO of FSUE The Russian Energy Agency of the Ministry of Energy of Russia.

• Awarded the Orders of Merit for the Fatherland, III and IV degrees, the Medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, I degree, has the honorary titles of "Honored Builder of Russia" and "Honorary Worker of the Fuel and Energy Complex" and many other awards. The abundance of Russian and foreign awards was one of the curious moments during the court hearings: four packages of awards were brought to the court in an attempt to gain court leniency for the ex-deputy minister.

• From 2013 to 2016, Ivanov headed Oboronstroy (a company specializing in the construction of housing for military personnel and other facilities of the Ministry of Defense). In 2016, he was appointed Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Defense and continued to oversee construction issues.

• According to the declaration of the former official, his family was considered one of the richest in the Ministry of Defense. In 2019, Forbes magazine included Ivanov in the list of the richest security officials in the country with an income of 136.7 million rubles. In subsequent years, the amount of his wealth was not disclosed, as the law on state protection of judges, law enforcement officials and regulatory authorities was issued.

• Ex-wife Svetlana Ivanova was a popular TV presenter of a fashion show. The woman has two children from her first marriage with Mikhail Maniovich — daughter Alexandra and son Mark. In marriage with Timur Ivanov, two more daughters were born, Daria and Praskovya. The couple officially divorced in 2022.

During his career, Timur Ivanov and his wife purchased an apartment building with an area of more than 1,500 square meters. m in the premium cottage village "Razdory-2" in the Moscow region. The estimated cost of the facility is 1 billion rubles. Ivanov's child has an apartment in Mexico with an area of 350 sq. m. The ex-deputy minister himself has a share in an apartment with an area of 44.2 sq. m., he also has an apartment with an area of 300 sq. m.

• Presumably, Ivanov also owns a classicism-style mansion with a park and fountain in the Tver region worth 2 billion rubles. The building was recognized as self-building and is being prepared for demolition. Ivanov is also credited with owning a mansion on 200 square meters. m in Moskovsky Chisty lane. The lawyer of the ex-deputy minister refutes these data, however, according to Izvestia, the mansion is rented by the company Dvoryanskoe Gnezdo, whose CEO is Stanislav Kuznetsov, Ivanov's driver.

• According to the declarations of 2016-2019, Ivanov and his wife bought a new car or motorcycle every year. The ex-official owns a rare ZiS-110 limousine. Svetlana Ivanova owns three premium cars — a Bentley Continental, an Aston Martin, a Hummer H2 and two Harley-Davidson motorcycles.