The Khamovniki District Court of Moscow ordered Zakamorny held in custody for two months, a day after his detention, according to RBC, which cited three law enforcement sources.
The criminal case was opened on October 8, the same day the official was detained. Investigators allege Zakamorny received more than 10 million rubles in exchange for general patronage of a commercial entity. The company's name and other circumstances were not disclosed.
After his detention, references to Zakamorny as head of the department disappeared from the Defense Ministry's website. Yekaterina Kharitonova was appointed acting head of the department.
A day before the case against Zakamorny was opened, on October 7, a court suspended proceedings against Mikhail Borisov, a former head of the same department. According to RBC's sources, he signed a contract with the Defense Ministry and left to fight in the war in Ukraine.
Borisov led the department until his detention in 2018. He is accused of abuse of office and accepting a bribe on an especially large scale. During the investigation he signed a cooperation agreement with the prosecutor's office.
Borisov's testimony led to the arrests of former senior Defense Ministry officials Dmitry Kurakin and Vladislav Kholodkov. In November 2024 they were sentenced to 17 and 14 years in a penal colony, respectively.
The Defense Ministry's Forestry and Natural Resources Department is responsible for the use and protection of forests on land belonging to the military agency, reforestation, and efforts against illegal logging and poaching. It also oversees tenants of forest plots.