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The general's bets were on the win
In Tambov, a criminal trial began against the former commander of the 58th Allied Army, Major General Ivan Popov. He was accused, together with businessman Sergei Moiseyev, of stealing metal structures for the construction of defensive structures during special military operations. SVO) zone. According to the investigation, the defendant Popov was involved in the crime of another general, Oleg Tsokov, who took advantage of his comrade's need for gambling money.
At the first session of the Tambov Garrison Military Court, Ivan Popov filed a motion to challenge Judge Dmitry Letunovsky, considering him biased towards him and intending to hold him accountable in this case. It was also proposed to involve military blogger Yuri Podolyaka as Ivan Popov's public defender.
The judge, after consulting with him, rejected the motion. Mr. Podolyaka suggested on his Telegram channel that such a decision was made because "someone really doesn't want our society to know the truth about the general's case."
Meanwhile, according to the prosecution story released by representatives of the military prosecutor's office, Major General Ivan Popov and businessman Sergei Moiseyev are accused of fraud on an especially large scale (Part 4, Article 159 of the Criminal Code). The military leader was also accused of forgery (Article 292 of the Criminal Code). According to the investigation, the organizer of the crime was the commander of the 58th Army, responsible for the Zaporizhzhya direction, Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, who took part in the metal adventure. Ivan Popov needed money to bet on the outcome of the match and return the funds already borrowed for this purpose. The investigation team learned about the general's hobby through his mobile phone.
According to the data, in just one year the military leader lost about 30 million rubles on bets.
According to the prosecutor's office, the military asked the Military-Civil Administration of the Zaporizhia region to allocate 17 thousand tons of metal structures for the construction of defensive structures. However, according to the prosecutor's office, the metal was supplied with a significant surplus, and the participants in the theft earned more than 100 million rubles at their own discretion, selling it in various regions of Russia.
Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov died during the SVO and was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Russia. His criminal charges were dropped. Ivan Popov, in turn, categorically denied the charges, proving his innocence in the theft and declaring that he would return to military service. This will not be easy to do, since he arrived in the dock together with his accomplice in the theft, Sergei Moiseyev, who fully admitted his guilt. In addition, the major general was denied consideration of the criminal case in the Zaporizhzhya Garrison Military Court, where he barely waited as one of the organizers of repelling the counteroffensive of Ukrainian troops in the Zaporizhzhya direction. conviction. In any case, no matter what verdict the trial ends with, the general will be given the opportunity to return back to the Northern Military District. However, the relevant petitions filed during the investigation were not accepted.