Arrested Defense Ministry General Found To Have Property Worth Half A Billion Rubles

Real estate was recorded in the name of the spouse or daughters.

During the audit of the former head of the Defense Ministry's personnel department, Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov, the Prosecutor General's Office found more than 500 million rubles worth of corrupt assets, a source familiar with the case told Vedomosti. According to him, the audit was conducted on the order of Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, and as a result, the agency sent a lawsuit to the court for the recovery of illegally obtained property to the state.

According to the lawsuit, Kuznetsov served in the Armed Forces in various positions until 2024. The sources of his income were his salary, payments to combat veterans, the sale of a car and interest on bank deposits. The size of the General's officially declared income for the period from 2010 to 2023 amounted to 47.6 million rubles, and his wife's - a little more than 41 million rubles. At the same time, Kuznetsov purchased expensive real estate, which were registered to his wife or daughters. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the total value of real estate acquired by him in Moscow, Moscow region and Krasnodar is about 241 million rubles.

In addition, during the searches at the general were seized hundreds of thousands of dollars and euros, as well as millions of rubles in cash. Kuznetsov was also found a collection of rare coins and expensive jewelry, in particular 59 gold coins and 101 silver coins. Among them there are coins with the image of George Washington and the Statue of Liberty, copies in honor of the main temple of the Russian Armed Forces and the 75th anniversary of Victory. In total, Kuznetsov was found to have property worth 504.8 million rubles, which is more than five times the official income of the general and his wife over the past 14 years.

In his testimony, Kuznetsov claimed that in addition to his official salary credited to his bank card, he received a cash allowance, which was given to employees of the Center for Special Financing of the Ministry of Defense. However, an interrogated witness denied this information.

Kuznetsov was detained and sent to a pre-trial detention center in May 2024 on charges of taking a bribe from Krasnodar businessman Leva Martirosyan in the amount of over 80 million rubles. According to the investigation, the bribe was intended for assistance in the conclusion of state contracts worth 372 million rubles. For this, the entrepreneur purchased and registered a plot of land in Krasnodar for the general's wife, and also built a residential house with an area of 1,125 square meters. meters. meters. Kuznetsov faces up to 15 years in prison.

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