Russian ministerial confidant Popov finds himself in custody in Russia.
In his position as a disaster protection specialist under Defense Minister Shoigu, Pavel Popov rose to becoming a deputy defense minister. However, when Shoigu was removed from office, Popov also lost his position. Now, investigations have been initiated against him for alleged misconduct.
According to the Russian Investigative Committee, Popov is accused of misusing funds between 2021 and 2024, while serving as construction manager for the Patriots, a prominent military park near Moscow. He's alleged to have misused resources by forcing companies linked to the park to perform work at his personal estate without payment.
Following these accusations, Popov was arrested, and a criminal case was opened. As reported by news agencies TASS and Interfax, the Russian Investigative Committee claims that Popov and his family own properties worth over 500 million rubles (approximately 4.9 million euros) in desirable areas of Moscow, the Moscow region, and Krasnodar in southern Russia. Two other park officials, General Vladimir Shesterov and director Vyacheslav Akhmedov, were arrested on fraud charges three weeks prior.
The arrests of military officials in Moscow have been a consistent trend over the past nine months. The first wave of arrests of defense ministry and Russian army representatives started in April, just before Shoigu's unexpected dismissal and replacement by economist Andrei Belousov.
Popov was known to be close to Shoigu, serving under him in disaster protection in the 1990s and 2000s before moving on to the defense ministry in 2013, where he was promoted.
The Russian Investigative Committee is looking into allegations against Popov while he was serving as a construction manager for The Commission, specifically the Patriots militaristic park. After his arrest, it was revealed that Popov and his family own substantial properties worth over 500 million rubles, raised during his time with The Commission.
