The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has closed criminal proceedings against Archer, the only manufacturer of cooled thermal imaging sights in Ukraine. The investigation has been ongoing since 2023, but in the end, investigators did not find sufficient evidence to raise suspicions against either representatives of the Ministry of Defense or the company's management.
The NABU press service reported this on September 15.
" According to the results of the investigation, not enough evidence was collected to indicate that the actions of officials of the Ministry of Defense and the Archer company constituted a criminal offense ," the official statement said.
The case was opened after a signal from the financial monitoring of one of the EU countries. It concerned a possible embezzlement of funds during the procurement of defense products. In October 2023, detectives conducted searches in the Archer office, explaining them by the company's refusal to voluntarily provide the necessary documents. At that time, the head of the enterprise, Oleksandr Yaremenko, stated that the actions of the NABU had actually blocked the manufacturer's work, but the Bureau rejected these accusations.
Investigators also noted significant delays in the delivery of equipment — at least nine months. However, after an inspection, it became clear that there was no evidence of a crime.
The closure of the proceedings was also confirmed by the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, which previously emphasized that the searches did not prevent Archer from fulfilling state orders.
