Timur Ivanov was sentenced over a year after his arrest, convicted of embezzling millions in state funds and laundering billions through a bankrupt bank.
As Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on, a senior Russian defense official has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for embezzlement and money laundering—highlighting deep corruption within the country’s military establishment even as it wages one of the largest conflicts in modern European history.
Timur Ivanov, 49, a longtime deputy defense minister responsible for military construction and logistics, was convicted by the Moscow City Court of embezzling over 216 million rubles ($2.8 million) in a scheme involving the purchase of a ferry for the Kerch Strait between Russia and occupied Crimea. He was also found guilty of laundering 3.9 billion rubles ($49.5 million) stolen from the now-defunct Interkommerts Bank.
The sentencing appears to be part of a broader anti-corruption drive inside the Defense Ministry. Ivanov’s conviction follows the arrest of several other high-ranking officials in recent months, including another senior figure detained in May in connection with a bribery scandal involving more than 100 million rubles.
Prosecutors had initially sought a 14.5-year sentence. In addition to prison time, Ivanov was fined 100 million rubles ($1.1 million), stripped of real estate and luxury vehicles, and banned from holding public office for four years after his release.
Ivanov was was in charge of infrastructure for the Russian military, including housing, construction, and logistics. His arrest in April 2024 and subsequent conviction signal a determination by authorities to tackle wartime mismanagement and theft at the heart of Russia’s defense system.
The court also sentenced Anton Filatov, former head of the Defense Ministry’s logistics subsidiary Oboronlogistika, to 12.5 years in prison on related charges. His firm was responsible for supply chains and transport critical to Russian operations.
Both men have denied wrongdoing. Ivanov’s lawyer, Denis Baluyev, said the verdict would be appealed.
Ivanov was appointed deputy minister in 2016 and rose through the ranks under Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
