Former Russian official ‘Stole’ 3-bedroom apartment: investigators

Investigators said Baryshev, 65, produced the falsified documents about his housing rights from 2017 to 2019.

Using those documents, he “stole” a three-bedroom apartment in the Moscow area worth about 20 million rubles, or $223,000, investigators said.

The commission did not say whether Baryshev was detained, but the potential charge against him carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The allegations include the years immediately after Baryshev was appointed deputy minister of civil defense in 2017. He held the post until 2021, when Russian leader Vladimir Putin fired him.

Following his dismissal, Baryshev was appointed Deputy Minister of Natural Resources in March 2023, but was subsequently dismissed from the post on 19 June 2024, with the Russian government citing his retirement.

His criminal record also comes as Russia recently announced investigations and arrests of several former high-level officials on charges of fraud, bribery and other forms of corruption.

Many of them are believed to have worked under Security Council Secretary Serghei Șoigu, who was previously defense minister from 2012 to early 2024 and civil defense minister from 1991 to 2012.

Shoigu was replaced as defense minister in May amid the war in Ukraine, as the Russian public largely blamed the failures and perceived losses.

The Russian government has not publicly charged Shoigu, nor has it acknowledged any common link between him and the accused officials.