NABU charges Defense Ministry major general with fraud

NABU and SAPO reported suspicions against a former employee of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Major General Oleksiy Bakumenko, of fraudulently acquiring an official apartment in Kyiv during martial law.

This is evidenced by the data of the court case, and was also confirmed by sources in the authorities.

According to the investigation, during his military service, Bakumenko and his wife owned two apartments in Kyiv with an area of ​​35 and 41.6 m². Despite this, in 2018 he initiated the provision of official housing, which he received on April 6 of the same year. In 2021, realizing that he could not privatize the apartment due to housing needs, Bakumenko divorced his wife in November, and in December he gave her his share in one of the apartments.

According to the investigation, in this way the Major General created the appearance of a lack of housing, necessary for the privatization of his official apartment. In fact, he continued to live with his wife. In December 2021, Bakumenko submitted a report on his registration as a serviceman in need of improved housing conditions, after which he was included in the list. On February 13, 2022, he submitted a request for housing, which was granted on February 23, 2022.

On October 13, 2022, Bakumenko applied to privatize the apartment. On November 4, he received a certificate of ownership, and on November 17, the housing was finally privatized.

As a result, Major General Bakumenko was reported on suspicion of seizing an apartment worth UAH 3,835,152 through fraud committed under martial law (Part 4 of Article 410 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), as well as failure to submit a declaration for 2021 within the specified time limits (Article 366-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

On March 19, the High Anti-Corruption Court chose a preventive measure in the form of a bail of UAH 908,400. The suspect was also ordered not to leave Kyiv and the Kyiv region without permission, to report a change of residence, to refrain from communicating with certain persons, not to visit the Military District Directorate of the Ministry of Defense and its subordinate units, and to surrender his foreign passports. On March 26, the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court reduced the bail to UAH 242,240.

In 2018, Bakumenko was called the executive director of the Defense Ministry's GUR in the media, previously he headed the 1st department of the 4th department. He also filed a declaration as an air force attaché at the Ukrainian Embassy in Belarus. According to the declaration for 2022, his wife had cash savings: 50 thousand dollars and 12,800 euros.

Previously, the Appeal did not change the bail of the former Deputy Chief of the General Staff.

We also wrote that a scheme for evading military service was exposed in Lviv.