Kazakhstan's Authorities Seize Assets Linked to Bribery Case in Russia’s Defense Ministry — Bastrykin

Kazakhstan's authorities have seized the assets of a defendant in a corruption case involving bribery within Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Russian Investigative Committee Chair Alexander Bastrykin announced, Orda.kz reports, citing RBK.

He said the move followed coordinated work between investigative bodies in Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Russia.

The seizure relates to one of the episodes in the so-called Pantheon case, which centers on alleged corrupt activities by an employee of the federal memorial “Pantheon of Defenders of the Fatherland.”

According to investigators, the official accepted a bribe in exchange for allowing a commercial company to secure inflated contracts.

Bastrykin noted that Kazakhstan and Belarus fulfilled Russia’s requests for legal assistance by providing documentation and helping advance the investigation.

Corrupt officials often try to flee abroad to evade responsibility. Our goal is to prevent this and bring them back to justice. We receive significant assistance from Interpol,
 Bastrykin said.

In September 2024, authorities arrested Vyacheslav Filippov, director of the Defense Ministry’s Pantheon of Fatherland Defenders memorial.

Investigators allege that between 2018 and 2019, he accepted a bribe in the form of a Volkswagen Touareg worth roughly two million rubles in exchange for around ten monument-installation contracts.

Original Author: Rustam Muratov