General accused of $1.2M fortification fraud amid Ukraine conflict
TASS reports that General Ivan Popov, the former commander of the 58th Army of the Armed Forces of Russia, has been detained in connection with a criminal case involving large-scale fraud. The Moscow Times describes him as a general who told Putin the truth about the war.
According to The Moscow Times, Popov allegedly sold approximately 2,000 metric tonnes (about 2,200 U.S. tons) of metal products for constructing fortifications towards Zaporizhzhia. He was responsible for defence in that direction on behalf of the Russian army.
They stole materials intended for building fortifications
The case also involves an entrepreneur from the Krasnodar region who assisted the major general in selling the metal—the damages amount to over 100 million rubles (approximately CAD 1.2 million). The criminal case was initiated based on an article concerning fraud committed by a group or on an immense scale.
In July of last year, Popov was removed from his position as army commander after submitting a report admitting that rotation was needed and soldiers were facing "many problems."
He drew his superiors' attention to the greatest tragedy of modern warfare—the lack of firing positions and artillery reconnaissance among the Russian forces, noting that because of this, military personnel were dying and being massively injured.
The Telegram channel WCzK-OGPU wrote that the general intended to report this issue to President Vladimir Putin personally. Popov also clashed with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, who, after Popov revealed the front-line irregularities, accused him of disinformation and spreading panic.
Popov, in turn, accused his superiors of betraying the army. This is the third high-profile arrest in the Ministry of Defense. On May 14, the head of the department's personnel division, General Yuri Kuznetsov, who previously headed the 8th Directorate of the General Staff overseeing state secret protection, was detained in connection with the suspicion of accepting a bribe.
During a search of his home, 100 million rubles were confiscated.
