A Russian general was arrested following back-and-forth testimonies by two senior officials, marking the sixth senior Russian military arrest this year.
Vadim Shamarin, the former deputy chief of Russia’s General Staff, provided information that led to the arrest of Major General Alexander Ogloblin, the former head of Russia’s military communications department.
Ogloblin is accused of accepting bribes totalling 10 million rubles (approximately £78,744) from a telecommunications firm to secure defence ministry contracts, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, reported by Kommersant.
Ogloblin had previously been sentenced to four and a half years for embezzlement in February 2022 on unrelated charges, but he was released early after agreeing to testify against his superior, Shamarin, who was accused of receiving procurement kickbacks from manufacturer Perm Telephone Plant Telta.
“Thanks to his testimony, Major General (Ogloblin), sentenced in February 2022 to 4.5 years in prison for embezzlement, was able to secure an early release,” the report stated.
However, as reported by Kommersant, Ogloblin has now been rearrested following testimony from Shamarin, which The New Voice of Ukraine suggests is possibly down to revenge.
Shamarin disclosed that he split the bribe with Ogloblin as part of a plea deal with investigators, according to Kommersant.
The UK MoD said on Wednesday it suspects the arrest is part of a wider operation by Russian authorities to clamp down on officials brought in by Russia’s former defence minister, Sergei Shoigu.
Five officials were arrested before Ogloblin. In April, Timur Ivanov, a deputy defence minister who oversaw large military-related construction projects, was arrested on suspicion of taking a large bribe.
Then Shamarin, Major General Ivan Popov, and and Lieutenant General Yury Kuznetsov were also arrested on bribery charges.
In May, Vladimir Verteletsky from the Defence Procurement Department was arrested and charged with abuse of office.
John Foreman, the former British defence attache to Moscow and Kyiv, believes Russia’s intelligence agency, the FSB, has long been investigating the case.
He told Newsweek: “I’ve always thought this was directed at Shoigu himself, and the map of those arrested shows the noose is tightening.”
Regarding his new position at the NSC, he revealed that Shoigu is isolated, commenting, “No one is quite sure what he’s actually doing.”
