EThis is the latest in a series of detections of senior ministry officials, reported the Associated Press (AP).
Andrei Belkov heads the Military Construction Company, which builds bases, hospitals, schools and other facilities for the military, according to its website.
The company came under the supervision of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, who was detained in April on bribery charges.
Several other senior military figures have also been arrested on charges of fraud or bribery.
Russian online news portal Meduza, citing unidentified sources, reported that Belkov was detained in connection with the purchase of a CT scanner at an excessively high cost during the reconstruction of a military medical center.
Andrei Belkov could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
Ivanov, Belkov’s boss, was a close associate of Sergei Shoigu, whom President Vladimir Putin fired as defense minister shortly after he was sworn in for a new term in May.
Shoigu has been widely criticized for Russia’s battlefield setbacks in Ukraine and has been accused of incompetence and corruption by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who launched a mutiny in June 2023 to demand the resignation of Shoigu and the chief of the military General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov.
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2604909/russia-detem-outro-alto-responsavel-do-ministerio-da-defesa
