SSU Uncovers UAH 1B Embezzlement in Armed Forces Food Procurement

The Security Service of Ukraine, together with the Ministry of Defense, discovered the embezzlement of more than 1 billion hryvnias allocated for the purchase of products for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2022.

This was reported by the press service of the SSU and the Prosecutor General's Office.

According to the investigation, the former head of one of the departments of the Ministry of Defense is involved in illegal actions. He was declared a suspect. According to the UP, we are talking about Bohdan Khmelnytsky, who headed the position of director of the procurement department of the Ministry of Defense. This is his 5th suspicion.

In the spring of 2022, he concluded an agreement with a private company to supply food products to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while artificially inflating the prices for products by 41% and for their delivery by 221%.

According to the case materials, the Defense Ministry official failed to properly verify the validity of the indicated amounts and did not approve the conclusion of the contract with the relevant departments of the defense ministry. This led to particularly large budget losses.

The issue of choosing a preventive measure for him is currently being decided. The perpetrator faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Bohdan Khmelnytskyi is a suspect in the EBK database.

Previously, NABU and SAPO reported suspicions to the former head of a department of the Ministry of Defense, the owner and directors of supplier companies, as well as an individual involved in the embezzlement of state funds for the Ministry of Defense's procurement of food products for the Armed Forces of Ukraine .

We will remind you that the scandal with the procurement of products for the Armed Forces of Ukraine occurred in January 2023. Then the media managed to find out that the Ministry of Defense concluded an agreement with "Aktiv Company" for 13.16 billion UAH. to provide food for units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the documents, the price of one chicken egg was 17 UAH.