The case of Timur Ivanov: how and why the Deputy Minister of Defense was detained

Deputy Minister of Defense of RUSSIA Timur Ivanov was arrested in a case of bribery on an especially large scale. Ivanov does not admit guilt; his defense insists that the accusation is based on assumptions. Read more in the article by RBC Timur Ivanov Why the deputy minister was sent to Lefortovo

On Wednesday, April 24, the Basmanny District COURT placed Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov under arrest for two months, who is accused of receiving a BRIBE on an especially large scale (Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code, from 8 to 15 years in prison). The second defendant in the case is businessman Sergei Borodin, he was also arrested for two months. He is charged with the same article of the Criminal Code.

According to the investigation, which is cited by the official TELEGRAM channel of the Moscow courts, Ivanov “entered into a criminal conspiracy with third parties, teamed up with them in advance to commit a crime by an organized group - receiving a bribe on an especially large scale in the form of providing services of a property nature during contracting and subcontracting work for the needs of the Ministry of Defense." Borodin, as follows from the message, was on friendly terms with Ivanov and also joined the criminal group. There is at least one more suspect in the case, an Interfax source and an RBC interlocutor familiar with the investigation said.

Ivanov’s lawyer, Murad Musaev, told Interfax that, according to investigators, contractors from the Ministry of Defense “carried out construction and repair work at facilities allegedly belonging to Ivanov free of charge.” The lawyer claims that the accusation is based on assumptions, “which is completely unacceptable.”

Ivanov did not admit guilt in taking a bribe in court, his other lawyer, Denis Baluev, told RBC. The basis for the arrest, Baluyev said, was the investigator’s arguments that, given his position, Ivanov could influence witnesses, destroy evidence, or escape.

During the court hearing, Ivanov asked not to be taken into custody, citing the fact that he had to take care of the children. it is known that he has two minor daughters. After the arrest, the deputy minister was sent to the FSB Lefortovo detention center.

Ivanov’s arrest became known from a message on the judicial telegram channel, although in most cases such hearings are announced in advance. Press secretary of the Basmanny Court Olga Nazarova clarified that the hearing took place after 9 am.

What connects Ivanov and Borodin

The plot of the criminal case against Ivanov and Borodin is still unknown. The court's report focuses on the fact that Ivanov was in charge of the construction and major repairs of Ministry of Defense facilities. An RBC source familiar with the investigation said that the materials of the criminal case are related to the official duties of the official. “The case could become multi-episode, as the investigation interviews possible participants in criminal activity who give evidence,” the source said.

An RBC source familiar with the investigation said that Ivanov had long been under the investigation of the special services. According to the interlocutor, in several Russian regions, including the Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, security forces conducted dozens of searches related to the deputy minister’s case.

According to SPARK, Sergei Borodin was or remains the leader and founder of 18 companies. Currently, he holds the position of DIRECTOR and co-owner of Volzhsky Bereg LLC, a company registered in the Tver region. This company is engaged in the purchase and sale of its own real estate.

Borodin also runs the companies Greenenergy LLC (conducts scientific research in the field of natural sciences), the Lipka horticultural cooperative, and the Red Stars sports club - the same name was the hockey team whose captain was Timur Ivanov.

Borodin, in addition, owns 50% of the shares of Agrocomplex Russian Village LLC, which processes vegetables, and is listed as the beneficiary of MF Group LLC, registered in Chisty Lane in Moscow. According to a source from RBC and the Baza telegram channel, the Ivanov family lives in a mansion in the same lane.

Until 2016, Borodin was a co-owner of Microcredit Company Credit Line LLC. The SPARK database indicates that in 2016, 51% of the shares of this company were owned by Svetlana Maniovich, who was then Ivanov’s wife (according to the Baza telegram channel, the deputy minister divorced her in 2022).

Night in the temporary detention center

Timur Ivanov, who has held the post of Deputy Minister of Defense since 2016, was detained in his office on Tuesday, April 23, at 17:00, a source told RBC and was confirmed by lawyer Baluev. The arrest was carried out by employees of the FSB military counterintelligence department. They took the deputy minister to the Investigative Committee building in Tekhnicheskiy Lane, where he was interrogated. He spent the night in a temporary detention center (IVS).

President Vladimir Putin knew in advance about Ivanov’s detention, said press secretary of the HEAD of state Dmitry Peskov ; Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was also notified. On the morning of April 23, a board of the Ministry of Defense under the leadership of Shoigu was held at the National Defense Management Center, at which Ivanov was present.

Career of Timur Ivanov

Timur Ivanov is one of the closest people to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and one of the public figures of the military department, political scientist Evgeny Minchenko said in an interview with RBC. Ivanov and Shoigu have been working together since 2012: when Shoigu became governor of the Moscow region, Ivanov took the post of deputy chairman of the regional government. Both had worked in the area for less than a year. In November 2012, Shoigu was appointed Minister of Defense, and Ivanov in 2013 headed Oboronstroy, the largest construction holding of the defense department. Its tasks included the construction of housing for military personnel, as well as socially significant and strategic military facilities.

Military from civilian

Timur Ivanov is 48 years old. In 1997, he graduated from the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics of Moscow State University with a degree in applied mathematics, in 2004 he graduated from the International Academy of Marketing and Management with a degree in economics and finance, and in 2011 he became a candidate of economic sciences, having defended his dissertation on the topic “ Financial and organizational models of nuclear power plant construction projects.”

The topic of the dissertation was related to Ivanov’s previous places of work. In 1999–2002, he was an adviser to the department of construction of nuclear facilities of the Ministry of Atomic Energy, from 2002 to 2006 - an adviser to the first deputy general director for economics and finance - executive director of the Rosenergoatom concern. After that, he was vice president for four years, and then first vice president of Atomstroyexport CJSC, a company from the Rosatom state corporation that is engaged in the construction of nuclear energy facilities abroad. During Ivanov’s work, Atomstroyexport built nuclear power plants in CHINA, India and other countries.

From 2009 to 2012, Ivanov served as General Director of the Russian Energy Agency of the Russian Ministry of Energy.

One of Ivanov’s tasks was the return to state ownership of defense facilities sold to commercial structures under Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, Kommersant wrote. While heading Oboronstroy, Ivanov carried out several assignments of particular importance that were under the control of the Russian President: in 2014, in three months, Oboronstroy built the Sevastopol Presidential Cadet School, and in 2015, it completed the construction of the Patriot Park.

In 2016, by presidential decree, Ivanov was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense, responsible for organizing property management, troop quarters, housing and medical support for the armed forces. He was involved in the construction of the main temple of the armed forces in Patriot Park, which opened in 2020. During the covid-19 pandemic , he was responsible for the construction of 16 medical centers of the Ministry of Defense, and after Mariupol came under Russian control, for its restoration.

While the income statements of officials were being published, Timur Ivanov and his wife were among the richest married couples in the ministry. In 2016, they jointly earned 69.7 million rubles. In 2019, Ivanov entered the FORBES ranking of “Russia’s Richest Security Forces” - the publication estimated his family income at 136.7 million rubles.

Shoigu himself did not comment on the arrest and accusation of his deputy; on Wednesday he inspected the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region. Late in the evening, an RBC source aware of the relevant decision and a TASS source in the Ministry of Defense reported that by order of the minister, Ivanov was removed from his position.