DEPUTY Kartapolov confirmed the arrest of ex-commander of the 58th Army Ivan Popov
The ex-commander of the 58th Army of the Russian Armed Forces, Ivan Popov, was arrested on suspicion of especially large-scale fraud. According to sources, the investigation believes that he sold 2 thousand tons of metal necessary for the construction of defensive lines in the Zaporozhye direction. The damage may amount to 100 million rubles. At the same time, the father of the arrested man admitted that he could have been framed because of "the truth told to the authorities." Popov was removed from the post of commander last year - he himself linked his suspension to a report on problems in the army.
The court arrested the former commander of the 58th Army of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Major General Ivan Popov. This was reported by TASS with reference to a source in law enforcement agencies. According to the agency, Popov was taken into custody on suspicion of fraud on a particularly large scale.
According to the channel, initially the person involved in the case was the deputy general, but now Popov himself has become the main suspect. Among his alleged accomplices is a businessman from the Krasnodar Territory, who was engaged in the sale of products, as well as a high-ranking officer of the Southern Military District (SE). Previously, the amount of damage amounted to 100 million rubles.
A Mash source close to the investigation also stated that we are talking about the sale of metal structures that were supposed to be used for the construction of defensive lines in the Zaporozhye direction.
The petition for the election of a preventive measure in the form of detention for Popov, according to a TASS source, was considered in the 235th Garrison Military Court. They confirmed that the Major General was arrested on May 17 for a period of two months. Information about the arrest was also confirmed by the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense, Andrei Kartapolov, while he did not disclose the details of the case.
"I have information that [Popov] is indeed in custody, but everything else is within the competence of the relevant structures," the deputy said.
The defense has already appealed against the arrest of Ivan Popov, his lawyer Sergei Buinovsky told TASS. The complaint will be considered in open mode on May 23. The Major General does not admit his guilt.
"An honest, decent officer"
Popov was detained on May 17, and arrested the same night, Buinovsky told the Telegram channel Baza . There were no searches at the Major General's house on the day of the arrest. According to the representative of the defense, the military "has nothing to do" with the amount of 100 million rubles.
"His material well-being is not even close to what the channels are writing about now. A man who has served all his life in the army and has given his all to the motherland has nothing today," the lawyer said.
Popov's father, in a conversation with Baza, suggested that his son could have been framed because he "told the truth" to his superiors.
He stressed that Popov is an "honest, decent officer" who is incapable of fraud. Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the administration of the Zaporozhye region, agreed with his assessment, who, in a conversation with the Daily Storm, also called the Major general "a decent officer, a responsible commander." According to Rogov, the defensive fortifications in the Zaporizhia direction were "of sufficient quality":
"Everything I've seen is built pretty well. Starting with minefields and ending with the same "dragon's teeth", long-term firing points, dugouts."
Who is Ivan Popov?
Ivan Popov, according to RBC, was born in 1975 in the Volgograd region. He graduated from the Moscow Higher Military Command School.
He began his service in the 56th Airborne Assault Regiment of the North Caucasus Military District. As part of the regiment, Popov took part in the Second Chechen War, the military operation in Georgia in 2008 and Syria. After that, he graduated from the Combined Arms Academy and the Military Academy of the General Staff.
In 2015, Popov became the head of the Volgograd military garrison, and in 2018 - Simferopol. He also headed the headquarters of the 22nd Army Corps of the Black Sea Fleet and the 11th Army Corps of the Baltic Fleet.
After the start of a special military operation, in May 2022, Popov was appointed chief of staff of the 11th Army Corps in the Kaliningrad region. According to Reuters, in June of the same year, as a colonel, Popov commanded Russian troops in the Balakleya area.
When the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted a counteroffensive in this direction in September, the head of the Kharkiv region administration, Vitaly Ganchev, reported fierce fighting in the city, saying that Balakleya, in fact, was not controlled by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. On September 10, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the decision to regroup Russian troops stationed in the area of this city.
In March 2023, Popov received the rank of Major General, after which he was appointed commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army, which was responsible for the Zaporozhye direction. However, in July, the Telegram channel "Cheka-OGPU" announced Popov's suspension.
"Popov raised the issue of the need to rotate units that have been on the line of engagement for a long period of time and have suffered significant losses. [Valery, Commander of the United Group of Russian Troops] Gerasimov accused Popov of scaremongering and blackmailing senior management. After Popov's statement about his readiness to personally report the problem to Putin, Gerasimov dismissed him from his post and sent him to the frontline positions," the publication said.
After that, Popov turned to his subordinates, confirming the information about his suspension by the decision of the "senior authorities". This appeal was published in audio format by State Duma deputy, former commander of the 58th Army Andrey Gurulev. In it, the Major General stated that during a conversation with his superiors, he raised the topic of the lack of counter-battery warfare and artillery reconnaissance stations in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Popov noted that "he expressed this at the highest level frankly and extremely harshly."
"In this regard, apparently, the senior chiefs sensed some kind of danger in me and quickly, in one day, concocted an order from the Minister of Defense, issued an order and got rid of me," the Major General explained.
Purges in the Ministry of Defense
Popov's case is the third investigation into the military in the last month. Earlier, the court also arrested the former Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Timur Ivanov and the head of the Main Personnel Department of the Ministry of Defense Yuri Kuznetsov. They are both suspected of taking bribes.
Ivanov, who oversaw construction issues, according to the investigation, helped construction companies win competitions, which were the easiest to earn, or get objects that were the easiest to build. For patronage, the former deputy Shoigu received, as his lawyers say, "property services." The amount of the bribe he received is estimated at 1 billion rubles.
Yuri Kuznetsov is also accused of patronage. According to Kommersant, he helped Krasnodar businessman Leva Martirosyan to conclude state contracts for the provision of hotel services worth 372 million rubles. For this, Martirosyan bought a piece of land in Krasnodar for a military official and built a house on it, which was registered to Kuznetsov's wife.
Both officials have been arrested. They do not admit their guilt in taking bribes.
Eva Vishnevskaya
