Another Russian Army General detained for large-scale fraud

Army General Pavel Popov, former Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, was detained. He appears on the fraud case related to Moscow's Patriot Park.

Photo: flickr.com by Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet

General Popov is accused of fraud on an especially large scale. According to the investigation, in 2021-2024, while he was responsible for the development, maintenance, and operation of the Patriot Park, he enriched himself at the expense of this institution — he used building materials to build his own house in the Krasnogorsk District (Moscow region) and forced park employees to work at his three-hectare dacha for free.

According to the Investigative Committee, the director of the park, Vyacheslav Akhmedov, and deputy head of the Main Directorate for Innovative Development of the Ministry of Defense, Vladimir Shesterov, were also involved in the fraudulent scheme. General Pavel Popov was detained based on their testimony. Akhmedov and Shesterov said that they received money following the general's orders and paid him about three million rubles.

In addition to property in the Moscow region, Pavel Popov owns other property in prestigious areas of Moscow, the Moscow region and in Krasnodar region of southern Russia, with a total value of over 500 million rubles.

The general built a mansion in the Krasnogorsk district [of the Moscow region] using Patriot Park money, and forced contractors to build, improve and maintain his three-hectare dacha, 112 Telegram channel said with reference to security forces.

Popov faces up to ten years in prison for fraud.

It was also revealed that General Pavel Popov's son Roman Popov was involved in sales of military equipment online. He had been allegedly selling military uniforms, shoes, backpacks, and Ops-Core helmets from 2018 to 2020. In just two years, Popov Jr. managed to sell at least 24 items.

Roman Popov was born in 1980 in the German city of Weimar where his father served in the military as part of a group of Soviet troops in Germany.

The son of the former deputy defense minister was found to own a 110-meter apartment in Khimki (Moscow's suburban town), the value of which is estimated at approximately 35 million rubles.

As reported by Mash, his father owns a 2,400-square-meter plot of land in a prestigious Moscow region settlement, an apartment in southern Russia, and a fleet of foreign cars worth approximately 8 million rubles.

The investigation believes that Popov registered part of the property in the name of family members. The total value of the property is estimated at more than 500 million rubles.

Details

Patriot Park is a theme park in Kubinka, Russia, that is themed around equipment of the Russian military and the Soviet Union's victory in World War II. The park, which officially opened in 2016, is designed around a military theme, and includes interactive exhibits with military equipment (including a mini-Reichstag to storm). The park incorporates the Aviation Museum of the Kubinka air base and the Kubinka Tank Museum. In 2020, the Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces was completed and plans for an Armed Force Museum are in progress. The park has hosted International Military-Technical Forum "Army" since 2015. In 2024, the park's head, Vyacheslav Akhmedov, was arrested along with defence ministry official Major General Vladimir Shesterov on charges of embezzling its funds.

Pavel Anatolyevich Popov is a retired Russian army officer who was the Deputy Minister of Defense between 7 November 2013 and 17 June 2024. He holds the rank of General of the Reserve Army. Popov had previously been the Head of the Civil Protection Academy of the Ministry of Emergency Situations from 2004 to 2008, and the Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations from 2008 to 2013.