A former Russian deputy defense minister who was arrested in April for bribery is now facing new charges – for the embezzlement of 3.2 billion rubles (about $33 million), Reuters reported, citing the Russian news agency TASS.
The charges against Timur Ivanov relate to two cases of embezzlement. One concerns a money transfer in the amount of 3 billion rubles from a bank account in "Intercommerce Bank" to company accounts in Hong Kong and Cyprus, and in the other - for the purchase at a price of about 200 million rubles of two vessels for the ferry line in the Kerch Strait, which connects southern Russia with the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Ivanov rejects the accusations. If he is found guilty of the new charges, he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, TASS notes.
Another case is pending against Ivanov - for accepting a bribe, for which he faces a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.