NABU Director Semen Kryvonos reported that the Bureau is actively investigating possible corruption in defense procurement, but has encountered problems: the State Financial Monitoring Service has not responded to investigators' requests regarding the movement of funds and suspicious transactions since the beginning of the year. NABU believes that this may hinder the identification of participants in corruption schemes, including those involved in the Ukrenergo scandal.
During a meeting of the parliamentary TSC on economic security, the director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, Semen Kryvonos, confirmed that the Bureau's detectives focused on corruption risks in defense procurement. According to him, since February of this year, investigators have been systematically analyzing financial transactions related to defense contracts and have already seen a number of problems, primarily with tracking funds.
Kryvonos emphasized that for a full-fledged investigation, NABU needs data from the Financial Monitoring Service, but the State Financial Monitoring Service does not respond to official requests.
"We have been sending several requests one after another to the Financial Monitoring Service regarding the movement of funds and suspicious transactions. Now we will be sending many more," he said.
According to Kryvonos, some of the NABU's requests also concern individuals connected to the corruption scandal at Ukrenergo. The materials include the so-called "Carlsons", "Sugars" and other representatives of the alleged criminal organization, who could have influenced decision-making and the formation of inflated contracts.
"They are not all identified at this time, and we hope to identify everyone," the NABU director noted.
Anti-corruption authorities are already investigating possible abuses in defense procurement. Sources close to the investigation say that new searches and seizures of documents in defense structures may take place in the near future.
Western media also report that the investigation concerns allegedly inflated contracts for the purchase of machinery and equipment, which could have caused significant losses to the state.
Kryvonos emphasized that the Bureau plans to expand the scope of inquiries and interaction with international partners in order to fully reconstruct financial flows and identify all those involved in the schemes.
