A senior procurement officer in Russias Defense Ministry has been charged with abuse of power, Russian law enforcement authoritiesannounced late Thursday.Investigators accuse Vladimir Verteletsky of taking a bribe in relation to work that was not carried out under a government contract in 2022, according to Russias Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes.The law enforcement body said the sign-off had cost the state over 70 million rubles ($773,500) and added that Verteletsky was placed in pre-trial detention.The senior procurement officials arrest comes just hours after Russian investigators announced the detention of Lieutenant-GeneralVadim Shamarin on bribery charges as part of an apparent purge within the Russian military.Verteletsky is the fourth senior-ranking military officer to have been arrested since the detention of ex-Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov on April 23.The Kremlin on Thursday denied that it had launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign against military officials.
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