Former Russian Deputy Army Chief Sentenced 17 Years for $12.7M Corruption

Colonel General Khalil Arslanov, former deputy chief of Russia's General Staff, was sentenced to 17 years in a high-security prison for bribery, embezzlement, and large-scale procurement fraud involving military communications equipment. He was found guilty of orchestrating inflated defense contracts with the company Voentelecom, embezzling approximately 1.6 billion rubles ($12.7 million to over $20 million) and extorting a bribe of 12 million rubles ($152,500) from a military communications company director. Arslanov was also fined about 24.5 million rubles and stripped of his military rank and honors. Co-defendants Colonel Pavel Kutakhov and Igor Yakovlev received prison sentences of seven and six years, respectively. This conviction is part of a broader crackdown on corruption within the Russian military's top ranks, with other high-profile officials, including former deputy defense minister Timur Ivanov, also recently sentenced. Arslanov maintains his innocence, arguing the charges are fabricated and disputing the valuation of the military equipment involved.