KYIV, Ukraine — Employees of a Ukrainian arms firm conspired with defense ministry officials to embezzle nearly $40 million earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells for the war with Russia, Ukraine’s security services reported.
The SBU said late Saturday that five people had been charged, with one detained while trying to cross the Ukrainian border.
If found guilty, they face up to 12 years in prison.
The investigation comes as Kyiv tries to curb corruption in an effort to fast-track its membership in the European Union and NATO.
Officials from both blocs have demanded far-reaching anti-corruption reforms before Kyiv can join them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2019, well before Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Five individuals were charged in the conspiracy and one was detained at the border. AP Individuals from a Ukrainian arms firm conspired with defense ministry officials to embezzle $40 million intended for mortar shells. AP
Both the president and his aides have portrayed the recent dismissal of top officials, notably Ivan Bakanov, the former head of the National Security Service, in July 2022, as evidence of their efforts to crack down on corruption.
Security officials say that the current investigation began in August 2022, when officials signed a contract for cannonballs worth 1.5 billion hryvnias ($39.6 million) with the Lviv Arsenal arms firm.
After receiving the payment, the company’s employees were supposed to transfer the funds to a business registered abroad, which would then send the ammunition to Ukraine.
Ivan Bakanov, the former head of the National Security Service, was fired in 2022, which Zolonskey cited as evidence of his commitment to anti-corruption. AP
However, the goods were never delivered and the money was instead sent to various accounts in Ukraine and the Balkans, investigators said.
Ukraine’s chief prosecutor said that the funds had been seized and would be returned to the national defense budget.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
