According to statements from the press service, the Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case against Alexander Svistunov, who serves as the general director of Knyaginskaya Garment Factory JSC. The charges center on alleged large-scale bribe payments connected to the execution of a government contract with the Ministry of Defense. Investigators have chosen detention as the preventive measure, signaling the seriousness of the accusations and the perceived risk to the investigative process.
Authorities say Svistunov is suspected of paying bribes on a particularly large scale within the framework of the government contracts tied to defense procurement. The case is described under Part 5 of Article 291 of the Criminal Code, and the court has ordered detention as part of the ongoing proceedings. The decision reflects the gravity of the alleged misconduct in relation to state procurement for military needs.
Records indicate that in 2017 Svistunov allegedly paid four million rubles to Vladimir Demchik, who previously headed the clothing department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The payments were purportedly made to secure Svistunov’s company as a joint executor under government contracts for the supply of clothing and equipment for the Russian Armed Forces, with the total value of these arrangements reportedly exceeding 574 million rubles. The allegations point to a calculated effort to influence procurement decisions and secure favorable terms for his firm.
On October 11, in a court session in St. Petersburg, a representative of the Military Medical Academy testified regarding the case. The proceedings touched on the possible involvement of former Deputy Minister of Defense Army General Dmitry Bulgakov in a fraud scheme described as large in scale, underscoring the broader reach of the inquiry into defense procurement networks and their oversight.
The day before, the Solnechnogorsk Garrison Military Court imposed a fine on the former head of a department within the Ministry of Defense’s Main Directorate of Communications. He was found to have accepted bribes from the management of the Telta plant in exchange for procurement decisions involving electric scooters, quadcopters, and televisions, with the total bribe amounting to 2.5 million rubles. The ruling illustrates the ongoing legal consequences faced by officials tied to defense supply chains and the seriousness with which courts address such misconduct.
Earlier reports noted that the Ministry of Defense’s chief personnel officer was slated to spend the New Year in a pre-trial detention facility, a detail that highlights the widespread nature of the investigations and the broad scope of scrutiny across defense administration and procurement channels.