The ring shrinks: The Director General of the Russian Ministry of Defense was arrested in Moscow

In the capital, the Savelovsky court arrested Alexander Molodchenko, director General of the Russian Ministry of Defense, which is one of the ten largest construction companies in Russia. This is reported in the TC "Courts of general jurisdiction of the city of Moscow."

Together with Molodchenko, a preventive measure was determined for several more people whose positions are not called. Ivan Maltsev was sent to jail, and Olga Pavlova was placed under house arrest. Everyone is charged with part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — fraud on an especially large scale committed by a group of persons (the maximum penalty is up to 10 years in a penal colony). According to the investigation, the arrested committed fraudulent actions in the execution of state contracts of the Ministry of Defense.

GUSS specializes in hydraulic engineering, industrial and civil engineering. Among its facilities are the naval base of the Caspian Flotilla, the berths of the Pacific Fleet, the basing system of the Black Sea Fleet in Novorossiysk, sports and social facilities in the south of Russia. In 2021, the management's revenue exceeded 58 billion rubles. According to this indicator, the structure got into the top 10 of the largest construction companies in Russia.

As SPARK points out, Alexander Molodchenko joined the leadership of the structures of the Ministry of Defense in December 2017, since that time he has managed to lead the Main Military Construction Departments No. 12 and No. 8, as well as the 31st State Design Institute of Special Construction. From July 2023 to September 1, 2024, he headed the GUSS. In December 2023, Molodchenko received the title of "Honored Builder of the Russian Federation" from Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov (now in jail on corruption charges).

"Molodchenko's arrest was a continuation of the largest purges in the Ministry of Defense since the time of Anatoly Serdyukov. They began immediately after the resignation of Minister Sergei Shoigu in May this year, writes Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the Commission on sovereignty, patriotic projects and support for veterans of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation. — The number of all military detainees exceeds ten people already. The suspects in the commission of the crime — Molodchenko and other persons — misled officials of the Russian Ministry of Defense when fulfilling government contracts. Theft and corruption in war conditions are worse than betrayal! A quick and effective CAO — a special anti—corruption operation - is the key to the successful implementation of SMO."