Builder's case
The detention of Deputy Head of the Ministry of Defense Timur Ivanov can be considered the most notorious scandal in recent decades. Previously, higher-ranking persons also found themselves under arrest and trial – just remember the Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukaev or the Minister for Open Government Affairs Mikhail Abyzov. However, the case with Ivanov is noteworthy in that no one is yet able to predict what this story might lead to.
Curator of all military construction projects Timur Ivanov was detained on the evening of April 23. As reported by the Investigative Committee, a criminal case was opened against him under Part 6 of Art. 290 of the Criminal Code.
Following this, the court arrested three more defendants in the case – Anton Filatova, Alexandra Fomina And Sergei Borodin. It is known about Filatov that he worked side by side with Ivanov for many years – he was his adviser and held senior positions in construction enterprises subordinate to the Ministry of Defense. Alexander Fomin is a businessman, co-founder of the Olimpsitistroy company. According to media reports, she was conducting construction in Mariupol.
Also, according to TASS, Fomin is suspected of transferring a bribe to Ivanov, the amount of which could amount to 1 billion rubles.
As for the founder of many companies, Sergei Borodin, Life calls him the godfather and “wallet” of Timur Ivanov.
Epicurean in civil service
The most surprising thing is the contradictory feelings that the news of Ivanov’s detention in, as they now say, “nice Moscow drawing rooms” must have caused. On the one hand, for many this came as a real shock – they said that Ivanov, who had extensive connections, was known as a practically unsinkable figure. On the other hand, few people did not admit that something like this could happen one day. Ivanov and his ex-wife Svetlana Maniovich (they divorced in the summer of 2022, but some media outlets suggest that in reality the separation did not happen; the reason could be that Maniovich’s daughter, who has foreign citizenship, spoke out against the SVO) they lived ostentatiously luxuriously.
Maniovich did not hesitate to publish photos from glamorous parties and vacations at elite resorts on her social network. At the same time, Ivanov’s own career has always been connected with the civil service. He worked in the structures of Minatom and the Ministry of Energy, in 2012 he received the post of deputy chairman of the government of the Moscow region, then headed Oboronstroy, and in 2016 he took the post of deputy minister of defense. Here he oversaw issues related to the management of military department property, and was also responsible for the construction and repair of Ministry of Defense facilities. In 2018, Forbes magazine included Ivanov in the list of the richest security officials in Russia (*aggressor country); his income amounted to 13.6 million rubles.
However, Maniovich, who was engaged in business, brought 10 times more into the family. All this allowed the couple to buy expensive cars every year and buy a home for their child in Mexico. As follows from the submitted declarations, the family, among other things, owned a Bentley Continental, Aston Martin, Hummer H2 and two Harley-Davidson motorcycles. However, the declarations, apparently, did not reflect everything.
It is now known that Ivanov transferred one high-speed motorcycle MV Agusta to his father. And the noble mansion in the “golden triangle” of Moscow, where Ivanov and Maniovich reportedly lived (according to legend, it was in its basement that Bulgakov settled his Master), officially belonged to the official’s driver. In addition, the prosecutor's office is now checking the circumstances of the appearance of the estate, built on the banks of the Volga in the Tver region. The estate, with an estimated cost of 8 billion rubles, was built by a company owned by Sergei Borodin.
The list of declared property alone, supported by photographs from Svetlana Maniovich’s social networks, could not help but draw attention to Timur Ivanov. It is now reported that he was allegedly under surveillance for several years. At the same time, publications that raised the issue of Timur Ivanov’s controversial methods of work appeared on the pages of the media even during his tenure in the government of the Moscow region. And during the period of his work in the field of military development there were a number of scandals. Thus, in 2020, the Moscow City Military Prosecutor's Office revealed the theft of 850 million rubles from the main military construction department under Spetsstroy of Russia (*aggressor country) – the money was intended as an advance for work at a Ministry of Defense facility. At the same time, it became known about the theft of more than 4 billion rubles during the construction of secret bunkers. According to the investigation, the M-Stroy company inflated estimates and the volume of work performed.
Ready to talk?
The main question that interests both the actors of this story and idle viewers is what to expect next? In many ways, one can only guess about the development of events, since information about the course of events investigations comes in extremely measured doses. In principle, it is not surprising, given that a significant part of Ivanov’s activities related to state secrets. Therefore, you have to read the signals that appear every now and then. For example, a striking demarche was that Ivanov was brought to court in uniform and in this form he was captured by photographers and cameramen. Previously, military personnel of even lower rank were not shown to the public in this form, so as not to discredit the honor of the uniform. There was hardly any opportunity to dress Ivanov in civilian clothes. Rather, someone wanted the Deputy Minister of Defense to be seen in the dock this way. One can guess who this signal was addressed to, but it was clearly not done by accident.
Here's another interesting point. After the first reports of Ivanov’s arrest, federal television channels seemed to have taken their fill of water – the evening final programs did not tell anything about what had happened. Of course, one can assume that those at the top decided not to pursue the scandalous emergency, which casts a shadow on the military department. However, versions have already appeared: they say that Ivanov could agree to cooperate with the investigation, so they decided not to expose him to the public anymore.
In this regard, the most picky observers have already paid attention to lawyer Timur Ivanov. The deputy minister's defender is Murad Musayev. He gained fame not only due to the fact that his clients are involved in high-profile trials (ex-Minister of Construction Mikhail Men, general Alexander Mikhailikmember of the Tsapkov gang Vyacheslav Tsepovyaz and others), but also by the fact that they all ultimately received a relatively mild punishment or were completely acquitted. Why were there hints: they say, the reason may lie not only in the eloquence of the lawyer, but also in his connections. Does this mean that Ivanov plans to reach an agreement with the investigation? He clearly has something and someone to tell him about.
Meanwhile, all mentions of Timur Ivanov disappeared from the Ministry of Defense website. This also looks very significant. In my time Alexey Kudrinwhose deputy was arrested Sergei Storchaksupported his long-time associate to the last.
We must assume that Sergei Shoigu provided convincing evidence of the guilt of his former deputy? Be that as it may, on May 8, the court decided to leave Ivanov in custody, while the defense insisted on placing him under house arrest. Well, the pieces are set, the opening is played, the most acute part of the game is ahead.
