A former Russian Navy radio engineering chief was sentenced to nine years in prison for accepting bribes worth more than 8 million rubles (about $100,000) from defense contractors. Captain 1st Rank Oleg Lopatiev also received a 16.5 million ruble fine (about $168,000) and a three-year ban from government service, Russian military officials announced on Tuesday.
The case highlights corruption within Russia’s defense establishment as the country expands military spending amid its war in Ukraine. Lopatiev supervised contracts worth more than 400 million rubles (about $5 million) between 2022 and 2025 with two companies — JSC Izumrud and PAO Dalpribor — for technical devices. The contracts were not completed, causing “significant damage to the state,” according to prosecutors. Lopatiev, who was arrested in March 2025, denied the charges throughout the investigation
According to media reports, Izumrud produces radar and radionavigation equipment, while Dalpribor specializes in sonar systems for naval and commercial vessels.
According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, Russian police have arrested more than 100 high-ranking state officials since the start of the year, marking “a real purge of the nation’s top authorities.”