Russia has arrested Col. Aleksandr Busygin, the former head of the clothing department at the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya), for allegedly taking a bribe while overseeing a state contract.
Busygin reportedly took a 6 million ruble ($72,245) bribe from JSC Dzerzhinsky Sewing Factory “Rus” to look the other way on a state contract for personal hygiene products that was never fulfilled.
“Busygin was responsible for overseeing the execution of these contracts. In 2023-2024, Busygin accepted a bribe of 6 million rubles from factory representatives for general patronage in the execution of government contracts,” according to a Monday update by the military branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee.
“As a result, the contracts were not fulfilled, and the state suffered financial damage.”
The update says Busygin has been charged with accepting a large-scale bribe while fulfilling a state contract under Part 6, Article 290 of Russia’s Criminal Code.
The Investigative Committee said Busygin’s case was uncovered as part of a joint investigation by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) alongside Rosgvardiya’s internal security.
Busygin has been detained and the investigation is ongoing, the update says.
Rosgvardiya is an independent security agency, separate from the Ministry of Defense, that reports directly to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
The prevalent corruption in and around the Russian military was likely the reason for the Kremlin’s appointment of economist and technocrat Andrey Belousov to become the new defense minister in mid-2024.
In another corruption case in Russia, former Kursk Region Governor Alexei Smirnov admitted to taking bribes during the construction of border fortifications in mid-September, with the inadequate defense likely contributing to Ukraine’s successful 2024 Kursk incursion.