Company that supplied substandard uniform for Ukraine's Armed Forces turns out to be co-owned by MP's nephew – Ukrainska Pravda

Vector avia, a Turkish company which supplied Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence with an overpriced summer military uniform instead of a winter one at a cost of US$30 million, has turned out to be co-owned by Oleksandr Kasai. He is the nephew of Hennadii Kasai, a Ukrainian MP and member of the Sluha Narodu (Servant of the People) party who sits on the Verkhovna Rada (Parliamentary) Committee for National Security, Defence and Intelligence.

Source: a joint investigation by Ukrainska Pravda and the Anti-Corruption Action Centre

Details: Oleksandr Kasai, 26, reportedly plays handball for the Motor Sich company. The investigation contains information about the connection between Hennadii Kasai and Motor Sich. Before being elected as a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, Hennadii Kasai was the director of the Yunist (Youth) Sports Palace, which is owned by Motor Sich.

In a phone conversation with journalist Mykhailo Tkach, Hennadii Kasai said he did not know how his nephew became a co-founder of the firm that supplied Ukraine’s Defence Ministry with military uniforms.

"I don’t know how he got involved with that, and I had no idea that he was a founder [of Vector avia – ed.]. I discussed this situation with him yesterday. I asked whether he was a founder! He said he had left and was not doing anything there," Kasai said.

The MP was also unable to explain how the young man had the money to co-found the company. Kasai suggested that his nephew could have earned a decent income from handball. "Where did he get the money from? Well, he played handball and earned a decent salary. He was on the Ukrainian national handball team and played for the best club in the country," he said.

He also stressed that he sees no conflict of interest in the fact that his nephew was a founder of the supplier company. "To me, it was a matter of principle for him not to be there [as a founder of the company – ed.]. I am 100% sure he is not there now," Kasai stated. 

Kasai later wrote on Facebook that the investigation had included "manipulative information" about him and his family ties, and that the media seemed to be using this to "attack" him "as an MP, and our party and faction, and even the president".

He stressed that he had no connection to the supplier and that he had only recently learned that his nephew was a co-founder of the company.

"In any case, I am ready to join in the investigation of this and any other abuses in the defence sector, and to provide the necessary assistance to law enforcement agencies or the temporary investigative commission of the Verkhovna Rada," he stressed.

Background: 

• On 10 August, the media outlet Dzerkalo Tyzhnia reported that in 2022, a Turkish company had sold summer jackets to the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the guise of winter jackets.
• The outlet’s website, ZN.UA, has a package of supporting documents for one of the batches of goods from Vector avia. It shows how 4,900 jackets worth US$142,000 were transformed into 4,900 jackets worth US$421,000. On their way from Turkish to Ukrainian customs, the jackets magically transformed from "camouflage jackets" into "windproof winter jackets" and gained in value from US$29 to US$86 per piece.
• At a meeting of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, it was reported that the scandal-ridden procurement of jackets and trousers for the Armed Forces involved a fake invoice scheme, that the supplier company was probably set up specifically for this supply, and that about 120,000 sets of uniforms are now in the hands of the military.

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