Russian General Gets 17-Year Sentence for Fraud, Bribery

(MENAFN) A Russian military court on Monday handed down a 17-year sentence to Colonel General Khalil Arslanov, the ex-deputy chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces, for major fraud and bribery, according to local news reports.

The 235th Garrison Military Court, as reported by a Russian news agency, imposed a hefty fine exceeding 24 million rubles (approximately $305,000), stripped Arslanov of his military rank and state honors, and convicted him of abusing his official authority.

Investigators revealed that Arslanov and his collaborators orchestrated inflated contracts with Voentelecom, a satellite communications provider for the Defense Ministry. These fraudulent agreements reportedly resulted in the misappropriation of nearly 1.6 billion rubles (about $20.3 million).

Additionally, Arslanov was found guilty of coercing a 12 million ruble ($152,500) bribe from the leader of a military communications firm. In connection with the case, Colonel Pavel Kutakhov and retired officer Igor Yakovlev were sentenced to seven and six years in prison, respectively.

Three other defendants, including Arslanov’s former deputy Major General Alexander Ogloblin, pleaded guilty and reached plea deals. Ogloblin received a 4.5-year prison term and remains detained on unrelated charges.

Arslanov is also under further investigation in a separate case involving the procurement of Azart R-187-P1 military radios for the Russian Armed Forces.

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