MOSCOW: Vladimir Pavlov, CEO of Russian military company, Voentorg, a supplier of clothing and food supplier, has been arrested on fraud charges, according to law enforcement officials on Thursday.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk stated that the CEO had “entered into a criminal conspiracy” with several others to sell toiletry kits to the military at inflated prices. Although she did not name the executive, Voentorg’s website indicates that Vladimir Pavlov has served as CEO since 2012.
Authorities estimate that the “organized criminal group” overcharged the military by 400 million rubles ($4.6 million) through government contracts between 2019 and 2022.
“As a result of these actions, Russia’s Defense Ministry and the Russian state budget have suffered particularly large-scale damage,” Volk said.
She added that Voentorg’s CEO, along with the “beneficiary” of a company that produced the overpriced supplies—a 41-year-old native of Russia’s republic of North Ossetia—have been taken into custody.
Police have questioned over 30 witnesses and conducted more than 60 searches in Moscow and four other regions in connection with the alleged fraud. A video released by authorities showed law enforcement agents searching an office.
Since April, several senior military officials have been arrested on various charges, including bribery and abuse of power, as part of an apparent purge that began with the arrest of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov.
In June 2022, the EU sanctioned Voentorg’s parent company over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
