Russian media: Gerasimov's deputy detained over suspected bribery

Lieutenant General Vadim Shamarin. (Russian Defense Ministry)

Lieutenant General Vadim Shamarin, a deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff and head of the Main Directorate of Communications, was detained for allegedly receiving a large bribe, the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported on May 23, citing a court statement.

The news comes only as the latest case to rock Russia's military and security apparatus.

The Interfax news agency reported, citing an undisclosed source, that Shamarin has been taken in for questioning.

The state-controlled outlet Kommersant also reported on Shamarin's detention, saying that the general had been put under arrest for a period of two months. A law enforcement source reportedly told the outlet that Shamarin's home was searched in connection to the case.

In April, now-former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was detained on suspicion of bribery, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was reassigned as the head of the country's security council on May 13, replacing Nikolai Patrushev.

Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov, the head of the personnel department of the Russian Defense Ministry, was detained on May 13.

Earlier this week, Major General Ivan Popov, the former commander of Russia's 58th Army, was arrested on suspicion of fraud.

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