UAH 733 million embezzlement uncovered in Defense Ministry

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) have exposed a scheme to embezzle public funds during the Ministry of Defense's procurement of food products for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the context of a full-scale Russian invasion.

This was reported by the NABU press service.

This involves the embezzlement of over UAH 733 million and an attempted embezzlement of another UAH 788 million.

The suspicion was reported to the former head of the Defense Ministry's department, the owner of related supplier companies, two company managers, and another individual. According to Suspilny's sources, the case involves food supplier Tetyana Hlyniana, a number of company managers, and the former head of the Defense Ministry's department for material support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Bohdan Khmelnytsky.

Qualification: Part 5 of Article 191, Part 2 of Article 15, Part 5 of Article 191, Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - embezzlement, attempted embezzlement and legalization of proceeds from crime.

According to the investigation, in 2022–2023, the army was supplied with food through the purchase of so-called product sets from a catalog of 409 items. The most commonly used products — vegetables, cereals, meat, water — accounted for only 10% of the assortment. The rest, such as spices, gelatin, or berries, were almost never ordered.

The price of the set was formed taking into account all the items in the catalog and was their average cost. This allowed suppliers to manipulate prices: to overcharge them for popular products and undercharge them for little-used products or those that could not be ordered due to seasonality of supply (cherries or apricots in winter).

That is, at first glance, there were no violations, and the price of the set did not change. However, potatoes, which were supplied in thousands of tons, were sold at a triple price, and seasonal berries and fruits, which were almost never ordered, cost a penny.

During August-December 2022, two companies controlled by the same owner received over UAH 733 million in illegal profits, as confirmed by a comprehensive commodity and economic examination. According to the investigation, part of the funds were withdrawn under the guise of dividend payments and financial assistance to related companies.

This money, in particular, could have been used by the owner of the companies to purchase hotels in the Republic of Croatia and other real estate.

According to the investigation, the crime was facilitated by a Defense Ministry official who, when signing the contracts, "did not notice" price anomalies in the catalog.

After the start of the pre-trial investigation in January 2023 and publications in the media — in particular, about the purchase of eggs for 17 UAH — the participants in the scheme reduced prices for 11 of the most popular products.

We remind you that a scheme for evading military service was exposed in Lviv.