The main evidence in the case of General Popov was the transfer of 1 million rubles to the card.
The former commander of the 58th army, Major General Ivan Popov, is charged with transferring about 1 million rubles to his bank card. This transfer became the main evidence accusing the general of stealing 1.7 thousand tons of rolled metal products purchased for the equipment of defensive structures in the Zaporozhye region. Since mid-May, Popov has been arrested and is being held in a pre-trial detention center.
A bank transfer "in the amount of just over 1 million rubles" to the card of Major General Ivan Popov, commander of the 58th Army, from Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov became key evidence in a criminal case of fraud on a particularly large scale and official forgery. This was reported to TASS by law enforcement agencies.
Popov's lawyer did not refute this information, but declined to comment on the details of the criminal case, citing a non-disclosure agreement.
"We have just started studying the case materials, so I have no right to comment on the details before transferring the case to the court, if the supervisory authority approves the indictment," said lawyer Sergei Buinovsky, who has repeatedly claimed the innocence of General Popov and the desire to achieve his acquittal.
A few days ago, investigators again asked the court to transfer General Popov to house arrest. In May, the court rejected a similar request.
What is General Popov accused of?
General Ivan Popov was arrested on May 17.
According to investigators, Popov was involved in the theft in 2023 of more than 1.7 thousand tons of rolled metal products purchased by the military-civil administration of the Zaporozhye region as humanitarian aid. These materials were intended for the construction of defensive structures on the line of contact. Their cost is more than 130 million rubles. In the final version of the indictment, the amount of damage imputed to the defendants in the case decreased to 105 million rubles.
In early July, the media wrote that Popov had added another article to the fraud case (Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) - official forgery (Article 292 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to Buinovsky's lawyer, "nothing new was added there, the same article 159, they just artificially imposed an additional unnecessary feature." According to the first article, the ex-commander faces up to 10 years in prison, the maximum punishment for the second is 4 years.
On July 11, the investigation again asked the court to change Popov's measure of restraint - to transfer him to house arrest. The court has already left the general in jail three times. On July 15, the 235th garrison military Court will consider the petitions of the Investigative Committee to change the preventive measure for General Popov and businessman Sergei Moiseev from detention to house arrest.
According to the investigation, Popov acted as part of an organized group together with Tsokov and Moiseev. Tsokov died in the SVO zone in the summer of 2023 and was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. His case was dismissed posthumously. Moiseev admitted guilt and partially repaid the damage. Popov denies guilt.
Dmitry Shumov
