MOSCOW: A Russian deputy defense minister in charge of military construction projects and accused of living a lavish lifestyle was ordered jailed Wednesday pending an investigation and trial on charges of bribery, court officials said in a statement.
Timur Ivanov, one of 12 deputy defense ministers, appeared in Moscow’s Basmany court Wednesday wearing his military uniform. The ally of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was arrested Tuesday evening, Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement.
The committee gave no further information, apart from saying Ivanov is suspected of taking an especially large bribe — an offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The Kremlin rejected some Russian media reports that Ivanov was suspected of treason.
Ivanov, 48, was sanctioned by both the United States and European Union in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to a court statement, investigators told the judge that Ivanov had conspired with third parties to receive a bribe in the form of unspecified property services “during contracting and subcontracting work for the needs of the Ministry of Defense.”
An acquaintance of Ivanov’s, identified as Sergei Borodin, also was arrested and ordered jailed pending an investigation and trial on the same charges, court officials said. Both men are to remain in custody until at least June 23.
According to the Defense Ministry’s website, Ivanov was appointed in 2016 by a presidential decree. He oversaw property management, housing and medical support for the military, as well as construction projects.
Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Shoigu and President Vladimir Putin were informed of Ivanov’s arrest, which comes as Moscow’s war in Ukraine grinds through its third year.
Peskov dismissed Russian media reports that the corruption allegations against Ivanov were intended to obscure additional allegations of high treason.
Independent Russian news outlet reported that the bribery charges were intended to hide more serious charges of treason and avoid scandal, citing two unidentified sources close to the Federal Security Service, or FSB.
Peskov described the reports as speculation. “There are a lot of rumors. We need to rely on official information,” he told journalists.
Ivanov’s lawyer also denied any other charges, telling RIA Novosti that he faced only bribery allegations.
Before his arrest, Ivanov was seen attending a meeting with Shoigu and other military brass.
Russian media reported that he oversaw some of the construction in Mariupol — a Ukrainian port city that was devastated by bombardment and occupied by Russian forces early in the war.
Zvezda, the official TV channel of the Russian military, reported in summer 2022 that the ministry was building an entire residential block in Mariupol and showed Ivanov inspecting construction sites and newly erected residential buildings.
That same year, the team of the late Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader and anti-corruption campaigner, alleged Ivanov and his family had been enjoying luxurious trips abroad, lavish parties and owning elite real estate. The activists also alleged that Ivanov’s wife, Svetlana, divorced him in 2022 to avoid sanctions and continued living a lavish lifestyle.
Commenting on Ivanov’s case, Navalny’s ally Maria Pevchikh said on social platform X: “It’s a good day today.”
The prosecution of high-level officials for corruption remains relatively rare in Russia.
The most recent arrest in April 2023 saw former Deputy Culture Minister Olga Yarilova charged with embezzling more than 200 million rubles ($2.2 million). Yarilova, who held her post between 2018 and 2022, is on trial and facing a seven-year jail term.
Former Economics Minister Alexei Ulyukayev received an eight-year prison sentence in 2017 for accepting a $2 million bribe from one of Putin’s top associates. The high-profile trial was widely seen as part of infighting between Kremlin clans. Ulyukayev, now 68, was granted early release from prison in May 2022.
A Russian deputy defense minister is ordered jailed pending trial on bribery charges
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A Russian deputy defense minister is ordered jailed pending trial on bribery charges
- Timur Ivanov, one of 12 deputy defense ministers, appeared in Moscow’s Basmany court Wednesday wearing his military uniform
- The committee gave no further information, apart from saying Ivanov is suspected of taking an especially large bribe — an offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison
Nearly half of taxpayers worldwide don’t see their money being spent for public good — survey
- 52% of respondents globally agreed that taxes were a contribution to the community rather than a cost
- Only 33% individuals agreed that tax revenues in their country were spent for the betterment of public
ISLAMABAD: Almost half of taxpayers across the globe do not see their money being spent for the betterment of public, a recent global survey found, in contrast with the idea of citizens agreeing to pay taxes in exchange for services.
The poll was conducted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), a globally recognized professional body providing qualifications and advancing standards in accountancy.
The survey found that 52% of the respondents globally agreed that taxes were a contribution to the community rather than a cost, while 25% disagreed with this. The rest chose to stay neutral.
“Only 33% agree that tax revenues in their country are spent for the public good,” the ACCA said on Friday, adding that 46% respondents disagreed with the notion.
In addition, it said, 32% agreed that public services and infrastructure were a fair return for the taxes they paid, with 50% disagreeing and the rest staying neutral.
Pakistan has one of the lowest tax ratios in the world, according to the World Bank. The South Asian country’s failure to generate tax revenues in higher amounts stems from the fact that it has a narrow tax base, low compliance rate, an inefficient tax administration and massive tax evasion.
The South Asian country aims to collect an ambitious $46 billion through taxes this financial year (July 2024 till June 2025). Authorities say they have identified 4.9 million taxable persons in the country by using modern technology.
“Trust in tax systems is crucial for sustainable development and prosperity, and the findings of this survey highlight the challenges that many governments across the world face in building it,” said Helen Brand, the ACCA chief executive.
“We look forward to using this important work to engage with policymakers, tax authorities and civil society to drive evidence-based policy initiatives to build effective and trusted tax systems.”
Italian deputy PM Salvini acquitted of migrant kidnapping charges
- Protecting borders is not a crime, League party chief says
- PM Meloni vows to continue fight against illegal immigration
PALERMO, Italy: A court on Friday acquitted Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini of charges of kidnapping over 100 migrants aboard a boat he had blocked at sea for nearly three weeks in 2019, as part of a policy to curb irregular arrivals.
After a three-year trial, judges rejected a prosecutor’s request to hand a six-year jail term to Salvini, the leader of the far-right League party, who is serving as transport minister in Giorgia Meloni’s government.
“I’m happy. After three years, common sense won, the League won, Italy won,” Salvini told reporters, saying that protecting national borders “is not a crime, but a right.”
The verdict came against a backdrop of tensions between the government and the judiciary over migration, after a court questioned the legality of a flagship plan to send asylum seekers to Albania, in cases now pending with the European Court of Justice
Salvini had tried to prevent the Spanish charity Open Arms from bringing 147 asylum seekers to Italy in the summer of 2019, when he was interior minister, as part of his policy of closing Italy’s ports to migrant boats.
The not-guilty verdict was greeted with applause from League politicians who gathered in the court room to support their leader. Prime Minister Meloni said it showed the allegations were “unfounded and surreal.”
“Let us continue together, with tenacity and determination, to fight illegal immigration, human trafficking and to defend national sovereignty,” Meloni wrote on social media platform X.
Before judges withdrew to consider their verdict, prosecutor Marzia Sabella told the court that Salvini had exceeded his powers in refusing to let the ship dock and there were no national security considerations justifying him in preventing the disembarkation.
Defense lawyer Giulia Bongiorno, who is also a League senator, said the boats had no automatic right to dock in Italy and the migrants could have been taken elsewhere if the charity had been genuinely concerned for their welfare.
The Open Arms’ ship had picked up mainly African migrants off Libya over a two-week period and then asked to dock in an Italian port. It turned down a request to sail to its home country Spain, saying those on board were too exhausted and needed immediate care.
Magistrates eventually seized the boat and ordered the migrants be brought ashore.
The case drew international attention.
Salvini received backing from far-right allies across Europe this week, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and also from US billionaire Elon Musk, who is advising US President-elect Donald Trump.
Well over 1 million migrants have reached Italy by boat from North Africa over the past 12 years, seeking a better life in Europe. The migration has boosted support for far-right parties, which have put curbing mass migration from Africa and the Middle East at the top of the political agenda.
Guatemala authorities raid ultra-orthodox Jewish sect’s compound after report of abuse
- The sect is known to have members in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala and Israel
GUATEMALA CITY: Guatemalan authorities searched the compound of an extremist ultra-orthodox Jewish sect Friday, taking at least 160 minors and 40 women into protective custody after reports of abuse.
Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez said the National Civil Police and members of military participated in the raid on the Lev Tahor group’s community about 55 miles (90 kilometers) southeast of the capital.
“The protection of boys and girls is an absolute priority,” Jiménez said.
Guatemala’s Attorney General’s Office said in a statement on the social platform X that suspected bones of one child were found. The office said a complaint was made in November of possible crimes including forced pregnancies, mistreatment of minors and rape.
The sect has run into legal problems in various countries.
In 2022, Mexican authorities arrested a leader of the sect near the Guatemalan border and removed a number of women and children from their compound.
In 2021, two leaders of the group were convicted of kidnapping and child sexual exploitation crimes in New York. They allegedly kidnapped two children from their mother to return a 14-year-old girl to an illegal sexual relationship with an adult male.
The sect is known to have members in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala and Israel.
US State Department imposes visa restrictions on multiple people in South Sudan
WASHINGTON: The US Department of State said on Friday that it is imposing visa restrictions on multiple individuals responsible for the ongoing conflict in South Sudan.
“We note the continued failure of South Sudan’s leaders to use their nation’s resources to the benefit of its people, their failure to end public corruption and elite capture of the country’s resources, their failure to protect the people of South Sudan from abuses and violations of their human rights, including civil and political rights, and their failure to maintain peace,” the State Department said.
Senate approves 235th judge of Biden’s term, beating Trump’s tally
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden secured the 235th judicial confirmation of his presidency Friday, an accomplishment that exceeds his predecessor’s total by one after Democrats put extra emphasis on the federal courts following Donald Trump’s far-reaching first term, when he filled three seats on the Supreme Court.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., teed up votes on two California district judges, and they were likely to be the last judicial confirmations this year before Congress adjourns and makes way for a new, Republican-led Senate.
The confirmation of Serena Raquel Murillo to be a district judge for the Central District of California broke Trump’s mark. Come next year, Republicans will look to boost Trump’s already considerable influence on the makeup of the federal judiciary in his second term.
Biden and Senate Democrats placed particular focus on adding women, minorities and public defenders to the judicial rank. About two-thirds of Biden’s appointees are women and a solid majority of appointees are people of color. The most notable appointee was Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first African American woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.
“Prior to our effort, the number of women on the federal bench was really diminished. It was overwhelmingly white males,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We consciously moved forward to bring more women to the bench, and believe me, we had a great talent pool to work with. So I think it’ll enhance the image of the court and its work product to bring these new judges on.”
Biden also placed an emphasis on bringing more civil rights lawyers, public defenders and labor rights lawyers to expand the professional backgrounds of the federal judiciary. More than 45 appointees are public defenders and more than two dozen served as civil rights lawyers.
While Biden did get more district judges confirmed than Trump, he had fewer higher-tier circuit court appointments than Trump — 45 compared to 54 for Trump. And he got one Supreme Court appointment compared with three for Trump. Republicans, much to Democrats’ frustration, filled Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the court the week before the 2020 presidential election. Ginsburg had passed away in September.
Democrats also faced the challenge of confirming nominees during two years of a 50-50 Senate. Rarely a week went by in the current Congress when Schumer did not tee up votes on judicial confirmations as liberal groups urged Democrats to show the same kind of urgency on judges that Republicans exhibited under Trump.
Some Senate Republicans were harshly critical of Biden’s choices. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said talk of diversity did not extend to the views of the nominees.
“One of the consequences of the age of Trump is that it drove Democrats insane and it drove them to the extreme left, so they put people on the bench who were selected because they were extreme partisans,” Cruz said.
Liberal-leaning advocacy groups said they are delighted with the number of judges Democrats secured, but even more so with the quality of the nominees. They said diversity in personal and professional backgrounds improves judicial decision-making, helps build public trust and inspires people from all walks of life to pursue legal careers.
“For our federal judiciary to actually deliver equal justice for all, it really has to be for all, and that is one reason why we certainly applaud this administration for prioritizing both professional but also demographic diversity,” said Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Democrats showed newfound resolve on judicial confirmations.
“They learned a lesson from the first Trump administration,” Grassley said. “Paying attention to the number of judges you get and the type of judges you put on the court is worth it.”
Part of the urgency from Democrats came as they watched the nation’s highest court overturn abortion protections, eliminate affirmative action in higher education and weaken the federal government’s ability to protect the environment, public health and workplace safety through regulations. The cases showed that the balance of power in Washington extends to the judicial branch.
Trump will inherit nearly three dozen judicial vacancies, but that number is expected to rise because of Republican-appointed judges who held off on retirement in hopes that a Republican would return to office and pick their replacements.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, acknowledged that the sense of accomplishment for Democrats is muted somewhat knowing that Trump will have another term to continue shaping the federal judiciary.
“I’m not ready to uncork the champagne just because we’ve done some really good work over the last four years,” Blumenthal said. “We need to be prepared to work, hope for the best and try to defeat nominees who are simply unqualified. We have our work cut out for us. The prospects ahead are sobering.”
Grassley promised that he’ll work to best Biden’s number.
“Let me assure you, by January 20th of 2029, Trump will be bragging about getting 240 judges,” Grassley said.
