Another case of abuse has been identified in the sphere of public procurement in the defense sector. According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, the state has suffered damages of more than 33 million hryvnia.
This was reported by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.
The Ministry of Defense did not receive equipment worth UAH 33 million: law enforcement officers opened a case
According to the prosecutor's office, in March 2022, the Ministry of Defense signed a contract with a private company for the supply of large-caliber rifles for a total of over UAH 363 million. However, the supplies were not complete, which was confirmed by a forensic economic examination: the state suffered damages of UAH 33.413 million.
Now watching
Currently, a technical examination of the rifles themselves is underway, after which additional forensic examinations are planned – commodity and economic.
The Prosecutor General's Office emphasized that the defense sector is under special attention from law enforcement officials, and any abuses in this area will receive a proper legal assessment.
A former Defense Ministry official was involved in the deal
The Security Service of Ukraine reported that the former director of one of the departments of the Ministry of Defense and the head of a private company were involved in organizing the deal.
In the spring of 2022, they signed a contract for the supply of 1,125 rifles for the needs of the front.
However, the entrepreneurs shipped only the declared quantity of weapons to the defense department, but not in full configuration, as stipulated by the terms of the contract.
The Defense Ministry official agreed to such a delivery without any grounds. Moreover, he did not conclude an additional agreement with the contractor to reduce the cost of the weapons due to the lack of some components.
As a result, as the investigation established, the former official, together with his accomplice, the general director of the supplier company, moved the entire amount saved into the shadows.
Based on the evidence collected, SBU investigators informed both defendants of suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
