Former Deputy Defense Minister, General Dmitry Bulgakov, detained in Moscow on corruption charges
Former Russian Deputy Defense Minister, General Dmitry Bulgakov, has been detained in a corruption case, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported. The court has arrested the general, and he is currently held at the Butyrka detention facility in Moscow, reports TASS.
Bulgakov served as the Deputy Defense Minister of Russia since 2008 and earned the rank of General of the Army in 2011. He is also a Hero of Russia. Bulgakov oversaw the logistics and technical support of the Russian military. In September 2022, he was relieved of his duties due to a transition to another position, the specifics of which were not disclosed.
Detentions of high-ranking Ministry of Defense officials have been ongoing since April. At that time, Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was arrested on bribery charges. Ivanov was responsible for construction contracts and property relations within the Defense Ministry. Also arrested in connection with Ivanov's case were Sergey Borodin, Alexander Fomin, and Anton Filatov.
In May, General-Lieutenant Yuri Kuznetsov, Head of the Main Personnel Directorate of the Defense Ministry, General-Lieutenant Vadim Shamarin, Head of the Main Communications Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces and Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and Vladimir Verteletsky, Head of the Department of the Ministry of Defense for state defense order support, were detained on bribery charges. The former Commander of the 58th Army, Major General Ivan Popov, was also detained in May on fraud charges.
On July 24, former CEO of the public-law Military Construction Company of the Russian Defense Ministry, Andrei Belkov, was detained in Moscow. He was suspected of abuse of power during the execution of a state defense order, specifically the procurement of a CT scanner at inflated prices. Belkov was detained the following day. Allegations stated that the crime was committed in 2019 when he was still heading another military organization, the "Main Military Construction Directorate (GVSU) for Special Objects." Belkov transitioned to the Military Construction Company in 2021.