According to Russian authorities, assets tied to Yuri Kuznetsov, the former head of the Main Personnel Directorate of the Defense Ministry, along with his relatives, were blocked in a sweeping move. TASS reported that investigators secured seizures involving 29 bank accounts and six real estate properties. The scope of the action underscores the gravity of the case and the level at which the alleged misconduct is being pursued, with the court documents cited as the basis for the measure.
The seized funds and property are spread across several corners of the country. In total, accounts were located in three Russian banks, while the real estate holdings include multiple parcels of land and residential properties. Specifically, a plot of land was taken in Krasnogorsk, another plot plus a house were identified in the village of Obushkovo in the Istra district of the Moscow region, a further plot along with a three-storey house were found in Krasnodar, and an apartment on Yartsevskaya Street in Moscow was included in the list. The breadth of the assets illustrates the investigative effort to tie financial and real estate movements to the conduct under probe.
On October 8, the 235th Garrison Military Court extended the arrest deadline for Yuri Kuznetsov in connection with the bribery case to January 12. This extension signals the ongoing procedural stage of the case and the court’s decision to maintain preventive measures while investigators continue their work.
According to investigators, the period from 2021 to 2023 saw Kuznetsov allegedly accepting bribes from representatives of commercial entities in exchange for favorable actions or decisions. During those years, Kuznetsov headed the 8th Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, a key unit involved in personnel and operational matters at the highest level. Preliminary data put the total amount of bribes at more than 30 million rubles, a figure cited to illustrate the scale of alleged wrongdoing and to justify the breadth of asset freezes and court actions that followed.
Kuznetsov has previously been mentioned in connection with the Kuznetsov case, and reports indicate that he has denied the bribery allegations. The evolution of the case shows how investigators cross-check financial records, service assignments, and communications with representatives of commercial firms to establish a pattern of prohibited payments or improper influence. The ongoing proceedings reflect the seriousness with which the authorities handle corruption concerns within the military structure and related organizations, including the mechanisms used to secure assets tied to such investigations.