Ukrainian defense officials and corporate leaders sought to steal about US$40 million through a fraudulent arms procurement scheme, the country’s main intelligence and security agency said on Saturday.
The corruption allegations were confirmed by Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, which has served implicated officials with notices of suspicion.
They come as Republicans in the US resist President Joe Biden’s efforts to send more aid to Ukraine, and as former US president Donald Trump, who has spoken out against US military support for Kyiv, appears to be on a glide path to the Republican nomination. Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that current and former senior officials of the defense ministry and heads of affiliated companies “attempted to steal almost 1.5 billion Ukrainian hryvnia [US$40 million] from the budget by purchasing 100,000 mortar rounds for the [Ukranian] Armed Forces.”
Photo: AP
They allegedly signed a contract to buy the shells from the arms supplier Lviv Arsenal in August 2022, after which the defense ministry “transferred the full amount stipulated in the signed document to the company’s accounts.”
From there the funds went to a foreign commercial entity that was supposed to deliver the ammunition but “not a single artillery shell” was ever sent to Ukraine, the SBU said.
Officials accused of participating in the scheme include the current and former heads of Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Department of Military and Technical Policy, Development of Armaments and Military Equipment, as well as the head of Lviv Arsenal.
One of the suspects was detained by the SBU while attempting to leave Ukraine and is currently in custody. According to Ukrainian prosecutor general, the stolen funds have been seized and are to be returned to the defense budget.
Ukraine has weathered a series of corruption scandals in the past few months, including several others within the defense ministry.
In August last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sacked all the officials in charge of military recruitment across the regions to end a system in which some people were being allowed to escape conscription.
Reining in corruption is one of the conditions the EU has set for Ukraine as it seeks membership.
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