Ukraine's Defence Ministry procurement: court arrests ex-Deputy Defence Minister on bail of US$10 million

The court has arrested Viacheslav Shapovalov, former Deputy Defence Minister, for two months and set a multi-million-dollar bail.

Source: sources of Ukrainska Pravda in law enforcement agencies

Details: On 2 February, at the request of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv imposed a pretrial restraint on Shapovalov in the form of detention with an alternative bail in the amount of UAH 402,600,000 [roughly US$9,940,000].

Background: The SBI, with the approval of the Prosecutor General's Office, served a notice of suspicion to Viacheslav Shapovalov, the recently dismissed Deputy Minister of Defence, who was responsible for logistics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, Shapovalov lobbied for the conclusion of contracts for the supply of food for the military at inflated prices, as well as the purchase of body armour, helmets, clothing and other items for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of poor quality for a total amount of over UAH 1 billion [roughly US$24,691,000].

Shapovalov resigned and was fired on 24 January amid a scandal over overpriced purchases of military supplies.

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