Former Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Suspected of Organizing a Criminal Group

Former Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, Pavel Popov, has been sent to the Butyrka investigation prison by court decision. The reserve army general is suspected of organizing a criminal group that embezzled funds from the "Patriot" park by issuing payments for unfulfilled work.

According to investigators, part of the embezzled funds was used for the construction of General Popov's house in Krasnogorsk. The case against him has been initiated based on testimonies from Vyacheslav Akhmedov, the former director of the park, and Vladimir Shesterov, the deputy head of the Ministry of Defense's Main Directorate of Innovative Development, who have pleaded guilty to fraud.

Both, according to "Kommersant," are expecting to sign pre-trial cooperation agreements with the prosecution, which may result in minimal punishments. The army general himself considers all the suspicions against him absurd.