The Russian prosecution has requested a 22-year prison sentence for the former deputy defense minister.
The State Prosecution of Russia has demanded that Pavel Popov, former Deputy Minister of Defense, be sentenced to 22 years of strict-regime imprisonment, fined 130 million rubles, and stripped of his military rank.
Investigative authorities allege that Popov abused his position to divert funds allocated to the "Patriot" Park for constructing a country villa in the "Zvezda" residential area. Between 2021 and 2024, this approximately 200-square-meter villa (complete with garage and sauna) was built and maintained by employees of the park, with related expenses disguised as official institutional expenditures. The case file also involves a plot of land measuring 0.3 hectares.
Additional charges relate to bribery—investigators point out that Popov obtained an apartment on Frunzenskaya Embankment in Moscow and a Lexus LX 570 SUV without payment.
Popov faces charges including bribery, fraud, forgery of official documents, abuse of power, and illegal possession of weapons. He has refused to plead guilty.
Due to the inclusion of state secrets and data concerning military security in the case materials, the trial is being conducted behind closed doors. The case file comprises as many as 56 volumes.
In a previous proceeding involving the same case, Vladimir Shestrov, former deputy head of a key department within the Russian Ministry of Defense, was already sentenced to six years in prison, fined, and deprived of his military rank. According to data from the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the involved individuals defrauded more than 25 million rubles by fabricating false construction information.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861951217772544/
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