Former deputy defence minister the latest senior official to face fraud charges

A former Russian defence official was ordered to be detained on fraud charges on Thursday in the latest high-profile arrest of a senior military official in what appears a sweeping investigation into abuse of office in the top echelons of the military leadership.

Former deputy defence minister Pavel Popov faces up to 10 years in prison if he is charged and convicted after being detained on suspicion of committing fraud, Russian state news agencies reported.

The case against Popov relates to business activities at a sprawling park in Moscow sometimes called Russia’s “military Disneyland”.

Patriot Park, a pet project of former defence minister Sergei Shoigu, is designed to inspire patriotism in Russia’s younger generations and showcases Soviet and Russian weaponry.

It has a firing range, air base, museums and conference centre and a massive, khaki-coloured Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces, which features mosaics of Soviet and Russian soldiers.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin personally donated money to commission the main icon for the church, according to the Kremlin.

Popov is the eighth top military figure to be arrested on charges of fraud, bribery or abuse of office in recent months, including deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov, who was arrested for bribery in April and later dismissed from his position.

The arrests began shortly before Mr Putin replaced long-time defence minister Sergei Shoigu with an economist, Andrei Belousov.

Analysts suggest the arrests are a sign that the most egregious corruption in the defence ministry will no longer be tolerated.

Former deputy defence minister Popov was responsible for developing and maintaining Patriot Park and is accused of renovating his own properties in the Moscow region at the park’s expense, Tass said.

He is accused of fraud alongside the director of the park, and Major General Vladimir Shesterov, deputy of the defence ministry’s innovations department, both of whom have already been detained.

Popov was a deputy defence minister from 2013 to June this year when he was dismissed by a presidential decree.

His arrest comes shortly after that of former deputy defense minister General Dmitry Bulgakov who was detained in Moscow in July.

According to Tass, Bulgakov is charged with large-scale embezzlement. He reportedly oversaw the creation of a system to supply low-quality food rations to Russian troops at inflated prices. If found guilty, he faces up to 10 years in prison.