A Moscow military garrison court has fined Colonel Ivan Mertvichshev, who was responsible for overseeing draft procedures, 400,000 rubles (€4,470) for extortion in the form of attempting to obtain a Bosch washing machine worth 72,000 rubles (€800) as a bribe, Kommersant reports.
Mertvichshev was employed in the main organisational and mobilisation department of the General Staff. He was also banned from serving in official positions for two years.
The colonel was initially charged with receiving a washing machine bribe in exchange for a positive review of a military enlistment office’s operation over the course of the mobilisation in Russia. However, his charge was reclassified as attempted fraud, the newspaper notes.
Mertvichshev confessed that he wanted to make money because he urgently needed a new washing machine after home renovations.
The court took into account several extenuating conditions: the colonel pleaded guilty, fought in Chechnya, and has several military orders. Moreover, Kommersant reports that
Mertvichshev drafted a report asking to send him to the Ukraine war while on trial.
The bribe and extortion case was launched in November 2022.
Mertvishchev, Kommersant said, decided to check a draft office in Ramenki in November when the conscription window was opened, informing the draft officer beforehand. “The colonel made it clear that he believed that the recruitment of conscripts was going very badly in that office, and if everything turned out to be fine with the documentation, then he would find fault anyway.”
The colonel then offered to resolve the issue by providing him with a washing machine, the media outlet said. The draft officer complained about bribe solicitation to the military intelligence department at the FSB.
The washing machine was purchased, and the inspecting colonel was told that the order was complete and ready to pick up. When Mertvishchev arrived, he was immediately detained by the FSB.
