The defense sector of Ukraine found itself at the center of another high-profile corruption scandal. New details reveal a dubious agreement between the Ministry of Defense, headed by Rustem Umerov , and the State Border Guard Service, headed by Serhiy Deineka . We are talking about 23 billion hryvnias from the state budget, which were directed to the Polish company Lechmar , previously known for the disruption of ammunition supplies.
Lechmar is a company that already has experience of cooperation with Ukraine, but not without scandals. In 2023, it signed a contract with the Defense Procurement Agency for 3 billion hryvnias, but disrupted deliveries and eventually refused to fulfill the agreement. Thanks to the clear terms of the contract, the Ukrainian side did not lose any money at that time.
However, in November 2024, the government agreed to a 100 percent upfront payment of 23 billion hryvnias under the new contract with Lechmar, despite the lack of guarantees. According to the media, this advance is against the generally accepted practices of arms procurement. Usually, money is paid only after deliveries, if the products are already in stock.
According to our information, most of the contracts until 2024 with European companies were paid in 100% or 98% advance payment was made.
The scandal erupted against the backdrop of past corruption schemes involving the procurement of ammunition. For example, the company "Lviv Arsenal" previously received an advance of 1.5 billion hryvnias, but never fulfilled its obligations. Its leaders are suspected of fraud, and one of the organizers of the scheme, Oleksiy Khoroshayev, has been detained in the Czech Republic.
The deal with Lechmar raises even more questions because of the company's ties to people involved in previous corruption schemes. According to journalists, the new Ukrainian representative office of Lechmar has among its co-owners the Yerominykh brothers, one of whom previously worked in the SBU, and the other - in the GUR. They are associated with Serhii Deinek, the head of the State Border Service, who made the decision to conclude the agreement.
Additional suspicions are caused by the fact that the Lechmar charitable foundation appeared in Poland in December, which organized the collection of SUVs for Ukraine. Although the foundation's website contains information about the donated cars, the scope of its activities remains unclear.
