Position: former State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice.
Sphere of corruption: budget funds.
Region of corruption activity: all of Ukraine.
Qualification: actions are qualified under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: at large.
The plot of the case: in early August, the SSU and NABU exposed the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and current top officials for embezzling budget funds.
Cyber experts of the Security Service, together with NABU, with the assistance of the newly appointed Minister of Justice of Ukraine, have exposed another scheme of misappropriation of public funds. The perpetrators stole over 10 million hryvnias from purchases for digital modernization
According to the case materials, the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, as well as the current head and deputy head of departmental departments, are involved in the transaction.
The investigation found that officials had misappropriated budget funds allocated for the purchase of server equipment and software for the Ministry of Justice. This hardware and software complex was supposed to modernize the department's electronic systems.
According to the investigation, in 2021, the defendants initiated the conclusion of a contract with an affiliated private company for the purchase of new servers and software for the Ministry of Justice for UAH 19 million. At the same time, the indicated purchase price exceeded the average market prices for these types of goods and services many times.
Thus, more than half of the amount transferred from the budget to the contractors' accounts was stolen by the organizers of the scheme.
The commodity and forensic economic examination of the purchased server equipment and software, initiated by law enforcement officers, confirmed the facts of illegal activity.
Based on the evidence received, the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, the head and deputy head of departmental departments were notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (embezzlement or appropriation of property through abuse of official position, committed on a particularly large scale).
In addition, under the same article, suspicion was reported to three managers of an affiliated private company with which a relevant contract was concluded.
Investigations are currently underway to bring all participants in the scheme to justice. The perpetrators face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
Subsequently, the High Anti-Corruption Court applied a preventive measure in the form of a bail of UAH 4 million to the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice.
This was reported by the press service of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. According to media reports, the case involved Olena Bohacheva.
The investigating judge applied a preventive measure to the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, suspected of embezzlement of state funds during the procurement of services for the modernization of the hardware and software complex. The court partially satisfied the request of the NABU detectives, agreed with the SAPO prosecutor, and applied a preventive measure to the suspect in the form of a 4 million UAH bail with the imposition of relevant procedural obligations
According to the Supreme Court of Criminal Procedure, the suspect was given the following obligations: to appear upon first demand; not to leave the borders of Kyiv and Kyiv region without permission; to report any change in her place of residence and place of work; to refrain from communicating with persons specified in the investigative judge's ruling; and to hand over her foreign passports for safekeeping.
Individuals potentially involved in corruption schemes: the head and deputy head of departmental departments of the Ministry of Justice, as well as three managers of an affiliated private company.
Assets: in her 2023 declaration, Bohachova indicated that she owns an apartment in Brovary, a summer house, and a land plot in Pukhovka.
Bohachova also declared a car trailer, a watercraft, and a Toyota C-HR car (worth UAH 376,667).
Bohachova's income for the same year was UAH 1,527,968. However, she did not declare any monetary assets.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded in a timely manner to the criminal activities of Bohachova and her accomplices.
Scandals: As journalists reported in July 2023, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine was embroiled in a scandal — law enforcement officers suspect it of abuses during the procurement of cybersecurity equipment services. According to media reports, the head of the tender committee, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Olena Bogacheva, may have had an intimate relationship with the head of the winning company, which was decisive in determining the winner of the tender.
This was written by investigative journalist Lyubov Velichko. According to her sources in law enforcement agencies, on July 7, the Ministry of Justice visited the SSU to seize documents as part of criminal proceedings regarding abuses in the procurement of cybersecurity equipment services.
Denis Malyuska has been aware for a month or more that his subordinates have hatched some kind of scheme. The head of the tender committee was the State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Olena Bogacheva (in office since March 2020). It later turned out that the secret of the winning company's success is that the owner of the supplier company... is having a s@@@ with State Secretary Bogacheva. In general, the entire tender committee is under suspicion
She added that State Secretary Bohacheva apparently promptly took a leave of absence to receive all payments.
Sources:
https://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/topchinovnikiv-min-yustu-vikrili-rozkradanni-1754495982.html
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/0bec76c5-d4ce-4ef2-9278-004ceaae5551