The Security Service of Ukraine, together with the Office of the Prosecutor General, exposed a large -scale corruption scheme in the Ministry of Defense related to the purchase of large -caliber weapons for the Armed Forces. It is about theft of more than UAH 33 million in the period from March 2022 to May 2023.
According to investigators, the former director of one of the departments of the Ministry of Defense and the head of a private enterprise who posted the rifle were involved in the scheme. In the spring of 2022, the parties concluded a contract for the supply of 1125 large -caliber rifles for the needs of the front. However, the weapons were incomplete - some of the necessary elements were absent.
Nevertheless, the Ministry of Defense official officially accepted products without comments and did not initiate the revision of the contract. Thus, the state lost tens of millions of hryvnias, which have not been returned to the budget. Excessive funds were bred into the shadow and distributed among the participants of the scheme.
The Security Service has documented the conspiracy between the representative of the defense department and the entrepreneur, as well as all stages of theft. Both defendants have already reported suspicion of two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Art. 114-1 (obstruction of the activities of the Armed Forces in a special period) and Art. 191 (appropriation of property in particularly large amounts by prior conspiracy by a group of persons).
The investigation is currently being preparing for precautions. Both threatens up to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.
