Sawt Falasteen - Former Russian defence official on trial for embezzlement

Ivanov, formerly in charge of Russian military construction projects, was arrested in April 2024 amid a wider crackdown on generals and military leaders suspected of corruption.

Russia has prosecuted more than a dozen military officials and defence sector workers since last year -- a crackdown on senior figures accused of siphoning off for personal gain vast amounts of money allocated for major projects.

Prosecutors have accused Ivanov of stealing 3.2 billion rubles ($38.3 million) from Moscow-based bank Intercommerz, which collapsed in 2016, and over 200 million rubles while procuring two ferries to serve Crimea.

The hearing began on Monday morning at Moscow City Court, according to an AFP reporter.

Ivanov is being tried alongside Anton Filatov, the former director of state defence corporation Oboronlogistika, which is owned by the defence ministry.

Both men proclaim their innocence.

Ivanov's lawyer, Murad Musayev, told RIA Novosti news agency the charges were "completely groundless".

- 'The glamorous general' -

Russian media have dubbed Ivanov "the glamorous general".

His family assets, which have been frozen by the Russian court, include 23 luxury and vintage cars, TASS news agency reported, citing court documents.

The 49-year-old, who had been deputy defence minister since 2016, was formally sacked in June 2024, two months after his arrest.

During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized a 2,500-square-metre (27,000-square-foot) mansion, a 420-square-metre bathhouse and a 20-acre (97,000-square-yard) plot of land, RIA Novosti reported.

The charges of embezzlement and money laundering carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.

Ivanov is widely seen as having links to Shoigu, a former defence minister who President Vladimir Putin sacked last year.

Ivanov was also the subject of an investigation published in 2022 by the Anti-Corruption Foundation -- created by late opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

It alleged the deputy minister oversaw -- and profited from -- construction projects in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which Moscow captured after a weeks-long siege at the start of the conflict in 2022.

The Kremlin has stepped up its anti-graft efforts since Putin began his fifth term in office last year.

Many Russians feel frustrated that funds are being misspent at a time of economic austerity and when thousands of soldiers are in Ukraine.

U.AlSharif--SF-PST