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Russian Drone CEO Who Briefed Putin on 300,000 UAVs Arrested in Fraud Case
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The former chief executive of Russian drone manufacturer Transport of the Future, who briefed Russian leader Vladimir Putin in January 2025 on plans to produce up to 300,000 UAVs a year, has been arrested on large-scale fraud charges linked to a state defense order, The Moscow Times reported on May 11.
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Yury Kozarenko was placed in pretrial detention by Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court. His appeal against the detention was rejected, leaving him in custody as the investigation proceeds.
The case centers on the alleged embezzlement of roughly $800,000 allocated under a state defense order to manufacture combat drones. Investigators allege the money was diverted through affiliated structures involved in drone procurement and production.
Transport of the Future had previously received a state subsidy of about $55 million to produce 750 vertical takeoff and landing drones. According to investigators, a subcontractor fulfilled only around 80% of the order.
Kozarenko drew public attention during Putin’s January 2025 visit to the company’s drone production facility in Tolyatti. He walked Russian leader Vladimir Putin through development and assembly lines and reported an annual capacity of up to 300,000 drones, reportedly including Geran loitering munitions modeled on Iran’s Shahed series.
The company has been promoted as part of Russia’s drive to expand domestic drone production for military and civilian use.
The arrest fits a broader pattern of fraud probes now spreading across Russia’s wartime drone supply chain, from media-linked procurement actors to senior industrial managers.
Russian police previously detained pro-war media manager Ilya Kostylev, who worked for the Telegram outlet Readovka, in a separate drone procurement fraud case. He was accused of involvement in a scheme linked to funds raised for drone supplies to Russian forces.
Investigators tied the case to the alleged theft of around $13 million intended for drone procurement under Russian Defense Ministry contracts. Kostylev launched Readovka in Smolensk in 2011 as a VKontakte public page, and the platform later grew into one of Russia's most prominent pro-Kremlin outlets.
He was subsequently drawn into the drone supply case involving funds earmarked for the country's military needs.
Authorities have not publicly detailed the full extent of Kostylev's alleged role in the scheme.
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