Former Deputy Defense Minister General Pavel Popov has been charged with additional offenses in the investigation of the criminal case of embezzlement during the construction of Patriot Park, writes RBC. In addition to fraud, he is also charged with official forgery, abuse of power, and illegal arms trafficking.
According to the investigation, in 2022–2024, Popov, as well as the director of Patriot Park Vyacheslav Akhmedov and the deputy head of the main department of innovative development of the Ministry of Defense Major General Vladimir Shesterov, "by inserting deliberately false information into the documentation about the completed construction works in Patriot Park, embezzled more than 25 million rubles.
The investigation claims that Popov organized the execution of construction works and the supply of various materials to his country plot of about 3 hectares in the Krasnogorsk district of the Moscow region at the expense of Patriot Park.
The property of all three defendants, worth more than 100 million rubles, has been seized. Akhmedov and Shesterov admitted their guilt and testified against Popov. The general himself denied all charges.
Photo: TASS