The recent arrest of the head of construction for Russia’s armed forces is another sign of the increasing level of corruption in the country’s defense industry, according to a new analysis by British defense intelligence analysts.

Andrei Belkov was the director of the Military Construction Company (VSK) when he was arrested last week for “abuse of power.” He was allegedly involved in a scheme to purchase a German-made MRI machine for $890,000 but charge the Russian government $1.4 million, according to Russian media reports.

“Investigators are now scrutinizing Belkov’s contracts, personal earnings and other connections during his time as head of the military construction company,” the Moscow Times newspaper reported.

VSK was sanctioned by Washington over its role in Russian government construction projects inside occupied Ukraine. The company was set up in 2019 to lower building costs, with then-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu praising the “special internal and external audit regime” that the company would bring to the Russian military, British military officials said in a Sunday posting on social media.

Mr. Belkov isn’t the only high-level Russian military official accused of official corruption. On July 23, a court in Rostov-on-Don sent the former director of the Zvezda-Strela tactical missile plant to prison for embezzlement and price inflation, British officials said.

A 2007 audit commissioned by the former Russian defense minister found that 70% of the military budget was used for purposes other than what was intended, UK officials said in their latest analysis of the battlefield in Ukraine.

“Some of this corruption is tolerated by the Kremlin, but there have been increasing crackdowns on those not sufficiently politically protected since the start of the war in Ukraine,” British officials said.

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.