politics
March 7, 2026
Former top Russian Defense Ministry official detained in graft case
A former Russian deputy defense minister has been detained by the Investigative Committee in a large-scale graft and bribery case
TL;DR
- Ruslan Tsalikov, former first deputy minister at the Russian Defense Ministry, has been detained.
- He is suspected of creating a criminal organization, embezzling funds (2017-2024), money laundering, and bribery.
- Tsalikov faces charges on 12 counts of embezzlement and money laundering, and two counts of bribery.
- If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
- This detention is part of a wider corruption probe within the Russian Defense Ministry, which previously saw Timur Ivanov sentenced.
- Head of the Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin, has called for stricter punishments, including total property confiscation for corrupt officials.
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