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A 61-year-old general slated to testify in a high-profile Kremlin corruption trial has died under suspicious circumstances.
Knewz.com has learned that Magomed Khandayev who served as the chief of the State Expertise Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense, was expected to be a key witness in an upcoming court case involving another Moscow higher-up.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has since weighed in on his death citing the late general’s various accomplishments:
“From 2006 to 2009, Khandayev was the Deputy Commander of the Siberian Military District for the unquartering and arrangement of troops. From 2012 to February 2013, he served as vice president of the Olimpstroy state corporation.”
“From 2013 to 2016, he was the deputy head of Roskordon. From April 2016 to September 2017, he was the Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District for Construction and Disengagement of Troops.”
“From 2018 to 2022, he served as Director General of the Capital Construction Customer Department of the Ministry of Defense, and from June 2022 to June last year, he was Director General of the Main Directorate of Special Construction.”
The statement, while making no mention of the general’s cause of death, noted that his body would be flown from Moscow to his home in Dagestan.
For some entities, Khandayev's death is too big a coincidence—especially since he was slated to testify in a high-visibility corruption trial.
Said judicial process is directed against Timur Ivanov, a politician who filled the role of Deputy Defence Minister of Russia from 2016 to 2024.
In April the news leaked that Ivanov, known to be part of the Kremlin elite, was taken into custody after being accused of accepting large bribes.
Ivanov denied the charges, while speculations suggested that the real reason for the war cabinet senior’s arrest was suspected treason.
At the time, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov sidestepped the idea saying:
“There are many different interpretations around all this now... You need to focus on official information.”
Ivanov – believed to be an ally of then-defense chief Sergei Shoigu – is said to have worked closely with the late Khandayev and thus it was anticipated that the general would make a few illuminating revelations while in the witness dock.
Khandayev joins a long, well-documented list of suspicious deaths among Vladimir Putin's allies and Kremlin higher-ups.
An article by Knewz.com in August 2023 explored the possibility of Putin purging his cronies according to a hit list.
The article noted at that point “55 officials, oligarchs, rivals and scientists” had succumbed to “violent or mysterious” deaths.
It cited the death of Putin’s late crony-turned-foe, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died along with his top Wagner associates when the jet he was flying in blew up in mid-air.
The incident followed a daring coup attempt by the warlord which would eventually be called off. While the two (Putin and Prigozhin) made a show of reconciliation, the world was not convinced that the hatchet had been buried.
On August 23, 2023, while flying in his private jet with nine other people, a loud explosion was heard from the ground. The plane broke up at 28,000 feet and spiraled down, landing in a smoldering wreck 186 miles north of Moscow.