State Bureau of Investigation busts fraudsters selling eggs for US$0.5 each to Ukraine's Defence Ministry
The State Bureau of Investigation has reported that, together with the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), it had exposed and detained a criminal group that was overcharging the Ukrainian Armed Forces for produce, and supplying "imaginary" food.
Source: State Bureau of Investigation (SBI); Davyd Arakhamiia, Servant of the People party Head, on Telegram
Quote from SBI: "The SBI detained a criminal group that supplied eggs priced at 17 hryvnias [approximately US$0.46] each to the Ministry of Defence."
Details: The SBI announced that it detained "another criminal group of five people, which included representatives of supplier companies and military personnel responsible for supplying one of the military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine". A serviceman who was in charge of fraudulent bookkeeping has also been detained.
According to the SBI, the criminals, among other things, "supplied eggs at excessive prices to the Ministry of Defence" and devised other schemes to misappropriate funds.
In particular, they entered false information in financial and business documents that the military unit had allegedly received food. And then these fictional products were written off as having been allegedly consumed by the soldiers.
The amount of established losses to the state from the activities of this group at this time reaches more than UAH 4.6 million [approximately US$125,187].
The SSU seized draft books, records, illegal weapons, ammunition, explosive devices, and over UAH 1 million [roughly US$24,700] in cash.
The detainees were served with notices of suspicion and custody requests.
The proceedings are being investigated under Art. 191.5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation or embezzlement of property entrusted to a person or under his/her control, committed on a particularly large scale).
The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 12 years.
Quote from Arakhamiia: "The SBI has busted the group for [fraud with] eggs [ambiguous phrase that may mean ‘grabbed them by b*lls’ – ed.]. The scheme to procure eggs for 17 hryvnias [roughly US$0.5] involved suppliers and those responsible for the unit's material supply. A total of five people. The notices of suspicion and requests for detention are being prepared.
Anyone who wanted to make money from the war will definitely get into trouble. And this is just the beginning. The end for such looters will be much worse."
Previously: On 1 February, the Prosecutor General's Office served notices of suspicion to Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, former Head of the Defence Ministry's public procurement department, Viacheslav Shapovalov, former Deputy Defence Minister, and Volodymyr Tereshchenko, former Deputy Director of the state-owned Promoboronexport.
Background:
- Earlier, Zn.ua, referring to the agreement of the Ministry of Defence on the procurement of food, reported that the ministry purchases food for servicemen at a cost two- to three-times higher than that in Kyiv stores. The Ministry of Defence called this information a lie and manipulation and promised to contact the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU).
- In mid-January, the State Bureau of Investigation announced that it had blocked a scheme for large-scale looting of food for the military.
- Davyd Arahamiia, Head of the Servant of the People political party, said that the corrupt officials will be held accountable, and announced that "active landings" will take place this spring.
- Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defence, rejected the Ministry of Defence's accusation of corrupt procurement, linked the emergence of information about tenders to the Ramstein Defence Contact Group, and said that the person responsible for the leak of information would be punished.
- The Verkhovna Rada [Parliament of Ukraine – ed.] announced that they are going to establish a law that will make purchases during martial law more transparent.
- The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine said it is investigating alleged abuses by the Ministry of Defence in the procurement of food for the military as part of a criminal investigation that began before it was published in the media.
- Viacheslav Shapovalov, Deputy Minister of Defence, has resigned due to the scandal over food procurement for the Ukrainian military at inflated prices. He was fired on 24 January.
- Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, Head of the State Procurement Department at the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, has been dismissed from his position as well.
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