Former Russian deputy defense minister arrested on fraud charges

MOSCOW, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) — Pavel Popov, a former Russian deputy defense minister, has been arrested on charges of large-scale fraud and is being held in a pre-trial detention center, the TASS news agency reported on Thursday.
The report said a Russian court has ordered Popov to remain in detention until Oct. 29.
Investigators said that Popov and Vyacheslav Akhmedov, director of the Patriot military-patriotic park, and Vladimir Shesterov, a deputy head of the Main Directorate for Innovative Development of the Russian Defense Ministry, misappropriated funds between 2021 and 2024.
Popov was accused of abusing his position to divert resources from the park for personal benefit, including the construction, renovation, and furnishing of his private estate in the Krasnogorsk district of the Moscow region.
The former deputy defense minister was also accused of coercing companies contracted by the park into constructing his private property for free, and continuing to use park resources for its maintenance and upkeep.
Popov had served as the deputy minister of emergency situations from 2008 to 2013 before joining the Ministry of Defense in 2013 as an aide to Minister Sergei Shoigu. He was appointed deputy defense minister on Nov. 7, 2013, overseeing scientific research, technological development, information systems, and robotics testing. His military service was terminated by presidential decree in June of this year. ■