The Office of the Prosecutor General has reported that law enforcement has conducted 65 searches across Ukraine as a part of a large-scale special operation to investigate the embezzlement of over $36 million allocated for defense needs.
According to the investigation, officials from the Ministry of Defense, military units, territorial recruitment and social support centers, regional military administrations, city councils, and company directors in various regions of Ukraine were involved in the illegal scheme.
“Under the procedural guidance of specialized defense prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General, together with the State Bureau of Investigation, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Police, the Economic Security Bureau, and the Bureau of Economic Security, a large-scale special operation was conducted to expose the organizers and participants of criminal schemes for embezzling budget funds allocated for Ukraine’s defense needs. The total damage to the state exceeds ₴36 million,” the prosecutors say.
The investigation has accused the head of one of the departments of the Ministry of Defense, the head of a territorial recruitment and social support center in Donetsk Oblast, more than seven employees of military units in Donetsk, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, and Cherkasy regions, five city council officials in Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions, as well as representatives of commercial entities, of funds embezzlement.
The suspects are charged with embezzling and misappropriating budget funds during the procurement of goods at inflated prices, increased cost of work, neglecting duties, professional negligence during the acceptance of low-quality military uniforms for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, forgery, and the use of forged documents.
One of the suspects—the head of the central department of the Ministry of Defense—is also accused of obstructing the legitimate activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations. Despite knowing about the existence of a state contract, he signed an additional agreement and unjustifiably transferred state funds to the company.
Decisions are being made regarding the preventive measures for the suspects. Investigative actions in the criminal proceedings are ongoing.
The Office of the Prosecutor General reminded that this is the second large-scale special operation by law enforcement agencies to expose the organizers and participants of criminal schemes to embezzle budget funds allocated to meet the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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