Another deputy of Shoigu, Army General Pavel Popov, was detained.

The former Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General Pavel Popov, was detained. He is accused of fraud in the construction and maintenance of the Patriot Park in the Moscow region.

"The Main Military Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case against the former Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Reserve Army General Pavel Popov. He is suspected of committing a crime under part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud)," said the official representative of the department Svetlana Petrenko.

According to the investigation, in 2021-2024 Popov, responsible for the development, maintenance and operation of the Patriot Park, enriched himself at the expense of this institution, acting jointly with the director of the park Vyacheslav Akhmedov and the deputy head of the Main Department of Innovative Development of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Vladimir Shesterov, who had previously been prosecuted.

"It has been established that Popov organized the execution of construction and repair works, as well as the supply of various material values to his suburban area in Krasnogorsk district of the Moscow region at the expense of the Patriot Park. In addition, through his subordinates, he forced the heads of commercial organizations that have contractual relations with the Patriot Park to carry out construction and installation work in their suburban apartments without paying for them. After the construction of the house and the improvement of the site, Popov continued to provide technical and economic maintenance of his site with an area of about 3 hectares at the expense of the park," Petrenko notes.

It is emphasized that during the investigative actions it turned out that "in addition to the specified plot with houses owned by Popov and his family members, there are numerous real estate objects in prestigious areas of the city of Moscow, the Moscow region and Krasnodar Territory". The total cost of these facilities is more than 500 million rubles, Petrenko said.

She added that the legality of the acquisition of the specified property is also being checked as part of the criminal case.

According to the Sho telegram channel, Popov owns:

— a plot of 3 hectares in the area of Krasnogorsk near Moscow. According to investigators, it was on it that he forced the builders involved in working in the Patriot Park to work for free. On this plot there is a house with an area of 245 "squares", a utility block of 108 square meters;

— apartment in an old house in Krasnoyarsk Territory with an area of 72.8 "square" (shared with his wife) worth about 5 million rubles;

— he is registered in Moscow — on Sokolovo-Meshcherskaya street in Kurkino district. The cost of the apartment is about 50 million rubles;

The Popovs also owned two cars: a Mercedes A200 passenger car, and a Volkswagen Tiguan issued to his wife.