Page 15 - bneIntelliNews monthly country report Russia May 2024

However, some expert estimates are more conservative. Today, most transactions are directly or indirectly related to the restructuring of the financial market and the crisis of globalisation, when the real beneficiaries are hidden - some of the transactions may be a cover or a kind of exchange of assets, explains Alexander Tsyganov, head of the Department of Insurance and Social Economics of the Financial University. Therefore, statistics reflect changes, but are not the only source for valid conclusions, he summarises. This dynamics is the result of both the growing attractiveness of the Russian market and structural restructuring, says B1 partner Marina Belyakova. As corporate structures changed, unfriendly countries were replaced by friendly ones, which could probably explain the influx of funds from the UAE, she notes.
2.7 Russian Deputy Defense Minister Ivanov arrested on corruption charges
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, a long-term associate of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, was arrested Wednesday on bribery charges. If found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in jail. The arrest was carried out by the military counter-intelligence branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB).
At the Defense Ministry, Ivanov was responsible for property management, quartering troops, providing housing and medical support for the armed forces, and procurement. This is one of the most cash-rich – and potentially corrupt – areas of the Defense Ministry. Real estate graft was at the heart of the case that brought down Shoigu’s predecessor, Anatoly Serdyukov. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Fund released investigations in 2022
15 RUSSIA Country Report May 2024 www.intellinews.com