Russian media state Russian Deputy Defence Minister suspected of high treason

Vazhnye Istorii, a Russian media outlet, has stated that the real reason for the arrest of Russian Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov was high treason. 

Source: Russian investigative journalism project Vazhnye Istorii, with reference to its own sources close to the FSB; RIA Novosti, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet

Details: Two Vazhnye Istorii sources, unrelated to each other, who are at the same time close to the FSB reportedly told the publication that Ivanov was suspected of treason.

One source noted that the Kremlin did not want to talk about the treason of Shoigu’s deputy publicly yet.

"A bribe is a reason for the public. They don't want to talk about treason publicly yet, as it's a big scandal: he is a deputy defence minister, after all."

Another source said that it was Putin who ordered the arrest of Ivanov.

"No one would have detained him for corruption. Everyone there [in the Kremlin] has known about this for a long time. Putin only gave the order after he was convinced that it was a case of high treason." 

Vazhnye Istorii said that the Department of Military Counterintelligence is currently working on the case against Ivanov. 

"They are now deciding what to do with him: either to imprison him for bribery and ‘finish him off’ in prison, or to reclassify the charge as treason."

At the same time, Ivanov’s lawyer told RIA Novosti that his client was only accused of taking a bribe, and that the rumours about treason were false.

Background:

• On the evening of 23 April, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov was detained on suspicion of taking a bribe. Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had been informed of Ivanov's detention, and that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had been warned in advance.
• In April 2023, Ukrainska Pravda spotted Ivanov's wife Svetlana at the Courchevel ski resort in the French Alps (video investigation is available with English subtitles).

For reference: Timur Ivanov has been Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation since 2016. Previously, he headed the Oboronstroi Joint Stock Company, which is subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Defence.

After the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ivanov was responsible for the project to restore the occupied city of Mariupol, Russian media wrote.

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