Russian President Vladimir Putin sacked on Tuesday defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov, replacing him with Moscow region governor and long-standing ally Sergei Shoigu.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sacked on Tuesday defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov, replacing him with Moscow region governor and long-standing ally Sergei Shoigu.

Putin spokesman said Serdyukov was firmed over a corruption scandal.
Serdykov was relieved of his duties so that a thorough investigation can proceed into a suspected $100 million property scam at a defence ministry holding company, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AFP news agency.

"This is in connection with the situation at the defence ministry. It has been done to create all the necessary conditions for the investigation," Peskov said.

Russian investigators on October 25 searched the offices of a defense ministry holding company, in a highly unusual move after opening a criminal probe into a suspected $100 million property scam.

Serdyukov, one of the country's three people with access to nuclear launch codes, at the time was summoned for a meeting with Putin which raised immediate questions about his future.