Russia detains former deputy defense minister on corruption charges in the latest military arrest
Russian security services say a former defense ministry official has been arrested on corruption charges
MOSCOW -- A former Russian defense ministry official was arrested on corruption charges, the Russian security services said Friday, the latest in a series of high-profile military arrests.
Former Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Dmitry Bulgakov was detained in Moscow and ordered held in custody pending an investigation and trial, Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement without giving further details.
Bulgakov was deputy defense minister from 2008 to September 2022, when he was dismissed. He was in charge of logistics at the time, and while the ministry had said that he was taking another job, the move was seen as punishment for flaws in supporting operations in Ukraine.
His ouster came shortly after Kyiv made swift territorial gains during a counteroffensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Seven top military figures have now been arrested on charges of fraud, bribery or abuse of office in recent months, including Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov who was arrested for bribery in April and later dismissed from his position.
Bulgakov’s arrest is the second this week after Andrei Belkov, the head of the Defense Ministry’s construction division, was arrested on suspicion of abuse of power on Thursday.