“Kommersant” became aware of the details of the second criminal case of former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, which the court began to consider behind closed doors on April 24. In the final version, he was accused of receiving bribes in the amount of over 1.4 billion rubles. in the form of construction work, a non-repayable loan and the construction of a bathhouse with a boiler room. The latter came with two multifunctional couches worth 2.4 million rubles. The defendant did not admit his guilt. The second defendant, businessman Alexander Fomin, agreed with the accusation.
It was expected that the trial in the Simonovsky Court of Moscow in the case of Timur Ivanov and co-founder of the Olimpsitistroy company Alexander Fomin would be held in the open. However, prosecutors Igor Potapov and Dmitry Nadysev intervened in the case, thanks to whom in 2025 Timur Ivanov received 13 years in the case of the purchase of ferries for the Kerch crossing and embezzlement of funds from the Interkommerts Bank. Then the prosecutors insisted on a hearing behind closed doors, citing the presence of “state secrets” in the materials. The listeners were removed almost immediately after the charges were announced, when the defendants (then Timur Ivanov was tried together with the ex-head of the Oboronlogistics company Anton Filatov) expressed their attitude towards him.
This time, state prosecutor Nadysev, who could hardly be heard due to the breathing of the service dog (the ex-deputy minister’s lawyer Murad Musaev was going to ask for the removal of the Rottweiler from the court due to an allergy, but did not have time), immediately asked to close the process.
He referred to “other secrets protected by law”, which are contained in 94 government contracts and contract agreements for the performance of design, survey, construction and installation work at Ministry of Defense facilities. In exchange for the participation in them of what was once one of the largest contractors of the military department, the Olimpsitistroy company, Timur Ivanov, according to investigators, received bribes. The prosecutor noted that each of the contracts is classified “for official use,” and “taking into account geopolitical realities and the conduct of the SVO,” their public study could threaten the safety of military personnel and civilians, as well as lead to “economic damage to the state.”
The defendants and their defense lawyers strongly opposed this. Thus, lawyer Musaev assured that “there is nothing secret in the contracts.”
“Our respected opponents do not want the accusation against Ivanov in all its vicious details to become public knowledge!” – said the lawyer, proposing to hold behind closed doors only those hearings during which these agreements would be examined.
He was supported by Timur Ivanov, who reasonably noted that the above-mentioned documents are unlikely to be examined in court, since he is not charged with theft of budget funds, but only with receiving bribes in exchange for assistance in concluding agreements.
“We are categorically against it. Moreover, there are facts that we would like to make as public as possible, including my position regarding the charges brought against me,” said the defendant. He was supported by the second defendant. However, after listening to the parties’ arguments, judge Valentina Trofimova granted the prosecutors’ request.
The announcement of the indictment took place behind closed doors. Its main part, as Kommersant learned, concerns Timur Ivanov’s receipt of three bribes from Alexander Fomin in the amount of 1.2 billion rubles in 2018–2023.
The first, as the investigation believes, was received by the Deputy Minister of Defense from May 2018 to December 2023 in the form of work and construction materials. It consisted of two parts. Thus, the second company of Alexander Fomin, Oboronspetsstroy, paid for goods, work and services in the amount of 397.5 million rubles related to the restoration of the building of the city estate of S. Volkonskaya-A. K. von Mecca of the 19th–20th centuries, which is located in Moscow in Chisty Lane, opposite the residence of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ Kirill. Its owner is Dvoryanskoe Gnezdo LLC, the actual head of which was Sergei Borodin, a confidant of the ex-Deputy Minister of Defense. In addition, the efforts of Olimpsitistroy and Oboronspetsstroy carried out work and purchased materials in the amount of 810.4 million rubles. for the construction of the Pankratovo estate in the Tver region, consisting of a two-story house, a garage and a security house. It belonged to Volzhsky Bereg LLC, whose beneficiaries were Sergei Borodin and Timur Ivanov.
In exchange for this, Alexander Fomin’s companies entered into contracts with the military department to carry out contracting and subcontracting work at three large facilities: at the Kemerovo Presidential School (worth almost 3.4 billion rubles), the Tver Suvorov Military School (5.2 billion rubles) and the Omsk Cadet Military Corps (6.7 billion rubles).
The second episode is related to receiving a bribe from a builder in the amount of 152 million rubles, bOthe majority of which—RUB 112 million—was a fictitious loan. At the request of Alexander Fomin, his friend’s company Proopt LLC provided a loan in 2022 to the Russkoe Selo agricultural complex, co-founded by Sergei Borodin. Another 40 million rubles. were received in cash and then deposited into the company account as payment of the authorized capital and a contribution to the property of the organization.
The investigation regarded the transfer of part of the received loan in the amount of 14.2 million rubles as legalization. in euros for the purchase of gherkins from Indian suppliers. Thus, the investigation believes, €244.6 thousand was laundered.
The third corruption incident charged against Timur Ivanov concerns the gratuitous construction of a bathhouse with a boiler room by the Olimpsitistroy company at a cost of 54.8 million rubles. near the house of ex-deputy minister Svetlana Zakharova’s ex-wife on Rublevo-Uspenskoye Highway. It was equipped with two multifunctional couches of the Gemya EVO model from the Italian brand of premium spa equipment Lemi for 2.4 million rubles. The delivery of the latter alone cost 192 thousand rubles.
In exchange for this, Alexander Fomin’s company was involved as a subcontractor in the execution of government contracts concluded by the Ministry of Defense with the Military Construction Company. The latter was entrusted with the construction of the Convention and Exhibition Center in Kronstadt for 2.407 billion rubles in 2021–2023, the creation of an educational center for young cultural and art workers “Art Residence “Tavrida”” in Sudak (10.9 billion rubles), the construction of a branch of the Nakhimov Naval School (14.4 billion rubles), as well as the construction of a “Content Center” art cluster “Tavrida” (975 million rubles).
It is interesting that Alexander Fomin, who acted as a bribe-giver in three cases, was charged only with giving one bribe (Article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), having dismissed the case on the other two episodes as against a person who voluntarily reported crimes.
Timur Ivanov, in addition to three episodes of bribes and one of money laundering, was given an episode of illegal possession of weapons and two episodes of their manufacture (Part 6 of Article 290, Articles 174.1, 222, 223 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The latest charge is related to the copies of a US Navy Colt revolver of the 1851 model found during a search and two hunting carbines converted into sawn-off shotguns – “Shadow-11” and MA-PP-91.
After the accusation was made, Timur Ivanov stated that he did not agree with it, and he would tell about “how it really was” in his testimony. Let us recall that during the investigation the ex-official did not deny that he collaborated with the contractor, combining civil service with business. According to his version, the constructed and renovated objects were not intended for him personally, but were an investment and were being prepared for sale in the future. In turn, Alexander Fomin fully admitted the accusation.
As for Sergei Borodin, the businessman, accused of receiving two bribes and one count of legalizing illegal income, not only admitted guilt, but also entered into a pre-trial cooperation agreement with the prosecutor’s office. His case was separated into separate proceedings; it will be considered later. At the trial in the case of Timur Ivanov, Sergei Borodin will act as the main witness for the prosecution.
