The case of Ivan Popov. Why was the former general imprisoned for five years?

The former commander of the 58th Army, Ivan Popov, was found guilty of especially large-scale fraud and forgery. The court sentenced him to five years in a penal colony and stripped him of the rank of major General. The charge was based on the theft of 1,700 tons of metal products in the Zaporizhia region. What is known about the case is in the Izvestia material.

What is Popov accused of?

• The criminal case against General Ivan Popov was initiated in the spring of 2024 on two counts: part 2 of Article 292 ("Official forgery") and Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Fraud on an especially large scale committed by a group of persons by prior agreement").

• The investigation found that Popov was involved in the theft of rolled metal products with a total weight of 1.7 thousand tons and a value of 115 million rubles. They were supposed to be used for the construction of defensive structures in the Zaporozhye region. The damage to the state was inflicted in 2023. At that time, Popov held the position of commander of the 58th Combined arms army, which provided defense in the Zaporozhye area.

• During the court sessions, it became clear that the theft was organized by Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov. He assembled a criminal group, which included Popov and businessman Sergei Moiseev. The prosecution said that Tsokov took advantage of Popov's passion for sports betting and transferred 1.3 million rubles to him, and at the same time bribed his wife with a car for 4 million rubles to involve him in a criminal scheme. Popov provided false information about the receipt of metal products to military units, and Moiseev was engaged in the sale of stolen property. The criminal case against Tsokov was terminated in connection with his death on July 11, 2023 during the Ukrainian shelling of Berdyansk.

• The criminal case against Popov was initiated in May 2024. Three months later, his namesake, General Pavel Popov, who also served as deputy defense minister, was detained. He was also accused of fraud on a particularly large scale. However, their cases, despite some coincidences, are not connected in any way.

• Initially, Ivan Popov was arrested and placed in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center in Moscow. However, after three petitions from the defense, he was placed under house arrest. This measure of restraint was in effect from July 2024 to February 2025, when the Tambov Garrison Military Court returned Popov to the pre-trial detention center after he left Tambov for Moscow.

What the court decided

• On April 24, the court convicted Popov on both counts. He was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of five years and a fine of 800 thousand rubles. Moiseev was sentenced to four years in prison and fined 600 thousand rubles. Both of them will serve their sentences in a penal colony.

Contractual offerings: Patriot managers received 9 years for bribes

The defendants helped entrepreneurs win large government contracts for park maintenance

• The court also stripped Popov of his military rank of Major General. He will be banned from holding senior positions for two years after his release.

• During the trial, Popov repeatedly expressed a desire to go to the special operation zone to protect Donbass. In April 2025, the Ministry of Defense filed a motion to suspend criminal prosecution and send it to a military unit to conclude a contract, but the court did not make a decision on this matter. After the verdict was announced, lawyer Sergei Buinovsky said that Popov would not participate in the fighting.

What is known about Popov

• Popov was born in 1975 in the Volgograd region. After graduating from the Moscow Higher Military Command School, he served in the North Caucasus and participated first in the Second Chechen War, and then in the armed conflict in South Ossetia. In 2015, Popov graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff and became commander of the 33rd separate Motorized Rifle Brigade.

• After the start of the special operation, Popov first became Chief of Staff of the 11th Army Corps, and then headed the 58th Combined Arms Army. In this capacity, he reported on the repulse of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Zaporozhye direction in June 2023.

• In July 2023, Popov was removed from his post and sent for further service in the grouping of Russian troops in Syria. In December 2024, he was dismissed from the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and excluded from the list of units.

• Shortly after Popov's arrest, the Security Service of Ukraine put him on the international wanted list in connection with the initiation of its own criminal case. The defense of the military asked to bring Ukrainian investigators to criminal responsibility in connection with the illegal initiation of a criminal case.