Russian Army General stripped of military rank, sentenced to 5 years in colony

General of the Russian Army Ivan Popov has been sentenced to five years in a penal colony on charges of large-scale fraud and official forgery. He was stripped of his military rank and ordered to pay a fine of 800,000 rubles (about $9,600). A second defendant in the case, businessman Sergei Moiseyev, received a four-year sentence and a 400,000 ruble fine.

The former commander of the 58th Army, Major General Ivan Popov, was found guilty of large-scale fraud (Part 4, Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code) and official forgery (Part 2, Article 292), according to the Investigative Committee.

In addition to the prison sentence and fine, Popov was stripped of his general's rank. Businessman Sergei Moiseyev, the second defendant in the case, was sentenced to four years in a general-regime colony and fined 400,000 rubles.

Popov’s lawyer, Sergey Buynovsky, told RBC that the defense will appeal the verdict.

"He is not guilty," the lawyer emphasized. He also confirmed that Popov had requested to be sent to a combat zone but was denied. "He was refused as there were no positions available for him," Buynovsky said.

Popov was arrested in May of last year. According to the prosecution, in 2023 he and Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, former Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District, orchestrated the theft of 1,700 tons of rolled metal products worth over 105 million rubles. The materials were intended for the construction of defensive structures in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The officers allegedly submitted false documents stating the materials had been delivered to military units, while Moiseyev sold them, according to prosecutors. The case against Tsokov was closed due to his death. RIA Novosti said that Moiseyev admitted guilt during court proceedings.

Popov delivered his final statement in court. Since February 2025, he has been held in pre-trial detention after being transferred from house arrest at the request of the military prosecutor’s office. The general has not admitted guilt. He had requested permission to sign a contract with the Defense Ministry to participate in the military operation. While his defense claimed there was a positive decision on the matter, the court did not release him from custody. In March, Popov stated that he had been dismissed from the military at the end of last year after 32 years of service.

Popov served as commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District until the summer of 2023. He explained his dismissal as the result of a “difficult situation with senior leadership” after he raised “all the problematic issues” within the army. In summer 2023, an audio message surfaced in which he described briefing his superiors on a shortage of weapons, “mass casualties and injuries” among soldiers, and his subsequent removal from his position.