Former Head of the Personnel Department of the Russian Ministry of Defense Sentenced to 12 Years in a Penal Colony
In Russia, a court sentenced Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov, the former head of the Defense Ministry’s personnel department, to 12 years in a strict-regime penal colony in a bribery case. He was also fined 125.35 million rubles, stripped of his military rank and state awards, and barred from holding leadership positions for six years after his release.
According to investigators, the official received a bribe totaling more than 80 million rubles from businessman Lyava Martirosyan in exchange for assistance in securing government contracts worth 372 million rubles. The illegal payment consisted of registering a plot of land in Krasnodar in the general’s wife’s name and constructing a house with an area of 1,125 square meters on it. Businessman Martirosyan was sentenced to 10 years in a penal colony, though neither defendant admitted guilt.
Earlier, the Russian state seized property belonging to Kuznetsov and his relatives worth over 500 million rubles, as their wealth exceeded the family’s official income by several times. During searches of the general’s residence, authorities discovered 120 million rubles in cash, a collection of 160 valuable coins, 94 pieces of jewelry, and 14 wristwatches.
This was reported by The Moscow Times.
In the Moscow Region of Russia, Major General of Internal Service Sergei Malkov, deputy head of the regional Interior Ministry department and chief of logistics, was detained. He is suspected of embezzling fuel belonging to the agency.
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