Former Russian defence official is jailed for 19 years for corruption

MOSCOW, April 10 (Reuters) – A Russian military court on Friday sentenced Pavel Popov, a former deputy defence minister, to 19 years in prison for corruption, state news agency RIA said.

It was the harshest verdict yet in a string of similar cases that have rocked the highest echelons of the Russian military establishment.

Popov, 69, was arrested in the summer of 2024 for suspected fraud related to the construction of Patriot Park, a war-themed tourist attraction near Moscow where a huge range of Russian and Soviet weapons are on display.

He pleaded not guilty and his lawyer said he would appeal the verdict, according to the TASS state news agency. He was also fined 85 million roubles ($1.10 million).

Another former senior Defence Ministry official, Major General Vladimir Shesterov, was jailed for six years last July in connection with fraud at the park. Its director is also facing trial.

Investigators said Popov, beginning in 2021, had diverted various building materials from the park to his own country house.

He joins at least a dozen officials who have been caught up in the biggest wave of corruption scandals to hit the Russian Defence Ministry in years.

The arrested men are all closely tied to ex-Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, whom President Vladimir Putin unexpectedly removed two years ago and replaced with economist Andrei Belousov in what was widely seen as a move to ensure tighter management of Russia’s vast defence budget and eliminate waste and graft.

Another former deputy defence minister, Timur Ivanov, was jailed for 13 years in July 2025 for bribe-taking and embezzlement.

A third, Ruslan Tsalikov, was charged with similar offences last month.

($1 = 77.1205 roubles)

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Alex Richardson)