Third man is detained in a major bribery case that involves Russia’s deputy defense minister

The Associated Press

Moscow’s court service says a third man has been detained in a major bribery case involving one of Russian’s most senior defense officials. It says businessman Alexander Fomin is suspected of paying bribes to Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov as well as Ivanov’s associate, Sergei Borodin. Ivanov is an ally of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. He was jailed on Wednesday pending an investigation and trial on charges of bribery. Moscow’s court service said Thursday that Fomin and Borodin contributed to Ivanov receiving a “particularly large bribe.” That’s punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Ivanov was in charge of military construction projects and was accused of living a lavish lifestyle in an investigation conducted by the team of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.