General Popov asked him to return him to war: what is known about the case

In the military court, the state prosecution demanded to sentenced the former commander of the 58th Army Ivan Popov to six years in prison and a fine of 800 thousand rubles. In the criminal case of fraud. In addition, prosecutors proposed to deprive the defendant Popov of the title of Major General in retired. The Ministry of Defense has already petitioned for the conclusion with the person involved in the contract for participation in his. The military leader popular in the army will now go to the fighting of the army: an ordinary attack aircraft or general.

Before the debt of the parties, the Tambov Garrison Military Court examined the Minor’s petition to suspend the criminal prosecution of Major General Popov, the cancellation of a preventive measure in the form of detention and sending him to the military unit, to conclude a contract for participation in a special military operation. Earlier, Ivan Popov Fired From the ranks of the Armed Forces of Russia and excluded from the list of the military unit, to which it was seconded in December 2024. Moreover, this turned out only during the judicial investigation. And in February of this year it sent to a pre -trial detention center For violation of house arrest conditions. On April 9, the 2nd Western District Military Court was supposed to consider the complaint of defense of the arrest, but the hearings did not take place, since the lawyers were busy at the hearing in Tambov.

It should be noted that the general and his representatives have repeatedly asked about the return of Ivan Popov, who distinguished themselves during the reflection of the counterattack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in the army, but they did not give a move.

The position of the military may have changed after the former commander Turned With an open letter to President Vladimir Putin. In it, Mr. Popov, reporting that “fell into a difficult life situation,” asked him to return him to duty in order to “continue to smash the enemy”, since the service in the armed forces is the meaning of his life. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov Reportedthat Vladimir Putin was reported about the letter of the general. At the same time, the defense on the results of consideration of the appeal did not report anything.

However, the Tambov court did not make any decision at the request of the military. As Kommersant noted by General Sergey Buinovsky, the presiding judge left the question with an open petition. True, he later said that the decision would be made upon the announcement of the sentence.

After that, the end of the judicial investigation and the beginning of the debate of the parties was announced. The prosecutors recalled that Ivan Popov and entrepreneur Sergey Moiseev GVSU SKR accuse the fraud of especially large -scale fraud (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code), and personally the general is also in the official forgery (Article 292 of the Criminal Code). According to investigators, the defendants are involved in the the summer of 2023, 1.7 thousand tons of metal products purchased by the Military-Grazhda administration of the Zaporizhzhya region for the construction of defensive structures and transferred to the military. The accusation believes that General Popov deliberately requested more metal than was required in order to realize excess on the side, which Mr. Moiseev was engaged in. And in order to take suspicions from himself, the military leader forced his subordinates to put his signatures in the application. Thanks to the scam, its participants received more than 100 million rubles.

“It was as if there were no long meetings, and we did not give our arguments,” the lawyer Buinovsky noted this “Kommersant”. “They simply retold the indictment, and that’s it.”

The prosecutors, meanwhile, considering the guilt of the defendants proven, requested six years for Ivan Popov, and for his accomplice Moiseev – five and a half years in colonies of a general regime.

The accusation also proposed to deprive Ivan Popov of the military rank and impose a fine of 800 thousand rubles on him.

Next week, lawyers will perform in the debate in the military court, and then the defendants themselves, who do not admit guilt, after which the judge will leave for the sentencing.

Lawyers participating in the defense of the military explained “Kommersant” that the courts usually reject the military petitions to return to the service if the criminal case is in the final stage and it is planned to put an end to it in the near future. After a court decision, such barriers, as a rule, do not happen, they note, citing the criminal case of the former castle commander of the 74th separate motorized rifle brigade of the Ministry of Defense and Hero of Russia Irek Magasumov as an example. Last year, according to the verdict of the Lugansk garrison military court, he was deprived of the hero of the hero and received 11 years of imprisonment for the murder of a girl. Without appealing the verdict, the military immediately signed a new contract and left his senior officer.

Ivan Popov may also preserve the title, according to Kommersant’s interlocutors, if he concludes a contract before the court decision comes into force. Recall that in accordance with the legislation, his criminal prosecution (as well as the execution of the sentence) will be suspended and terminated in the event of a rewarding of a state agreement or the end of his own. The criminal record of the distinguished soldier will also be repaid.

Alexey Sokovnin, Nikolai Sergeev