A new defendant named Ilkevich appeared in a criminal case over the supply of substandard bulletproof vests to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Court documents reveal that the case against former vice president Antonova, opened on July 10, 2024, was merged into a broader proceeding that also names Esipov, Astapenko, Portyannikov, Ermakov, and Semenikhin, with Ilkevich listed among the defendants. The consolidated case centers on bribe payments and intermediaries connected to unnamed officials within the Defense Ministry, in line with the Criminal Code provisions cited as Part five of Article 291 and Part four of Article 291.1. The documents explicitly indicate that Ilkevich is involved as a mediator in the bribery scheme.
According to official court records, Ilkevich is accused of mediating bribery related to the purchase of protective armor for the Defense Ministry. The allegations describe a network of payments and intermediary roles that enabled improper advantage in the defense procurement process, with multiple defendants named and implicated in a broader scheme surrounding the armor contract.
On October 4, a court ordered the seizure of the assets of the families of those involved in the case concerning the substandard armor, a move aimed at securing potential recoveries related to the alleged misconduct and ensuring that funds tied to the contract could be traced as the proceedings unfold.
In mid September reports indicated that top managers of the Piket group of companies faced charges for supplying the Defense Ministry with armor valued at about two billion rubles that did not meet contractual requirements. It was reported that these individuals may have fled abroad before their arrest, complicating efforts to secure cooperation and seize assets as part of the case’s broader investigative arc.
According to investigation results, employees of the Piket group allegedly embezzled funds intended for the Defense Ministry to fulfill a government contract for protective equipment. Instead of high quality bulletproof vests, at least twenty thousand items failed to meet contractual requirements, resulting in losses estimated at not less than 2.4 billion rubles. Earlier, the incident led to the addition of another article to the charges, expanding the scope of the case and the potential penalties faced by those involved.