Ukraine says it has discovered an internal corruption network that would have embezzled 40 million dollars (about 37 million euros) of funds intended for the purchase of weapons. Five people linked to the Ministry of Defense and a businessman are being investigated.
As the Security Services of Ukraine (SBU) announced on Saturday, in an investigation in which the National Police and the Ministry of Defense are also collaborating, the five officials have been given a "notification of suspicion", which is the first step in the Ukrainian legal process, "for appropriation, misappropriation of property or possession of property by abuse of official position".
Four of them are or have been employees of the Ministry of Defense, including the head of the Department of Military and Technical Policy, Development of Weapons and Equipment and the commercial director of the company Lviv Arsenal, in charge of the purchase, " who stole about 1.5 billion hryvnias from the purchase of grenades”.
Another suspect is a ministry official arrested at a border crossing while trying to leave the country, who is currently in SBU custody. In addition, they have charged a businessman who represented a foreign company, presumably the arms supplier.
The facts discovered would refer to a contract signed in October 2022 for the supply of 100,000 mortar shells, which Ukraine needs to maintain its defense against the military intervention that Russia began in February 2022.
The delivery of the weapons to the army was planned for December of that year, but so far no part of the order has been fulfilled. The Ministry of Defense had paid in advance and some funds had been transferred out of Ukraine. The Prosecutor General of Ukraine has said that the stolen funds have been confiscated and have already been returned to the Defense budget.
Since Russia sent the army to the neighboring country, the endemic corruption in Ukraine, especially within the military establishment, has been a very sensitive issue. The Government is trying to maintain the morale of the population, but also putting an end to corruption is one of the conditions of the European Union so that Kyiv can follow the path that eventually allows it to join the Twenty-seven. When he came to power in 2019, President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned the fight against corruption as one of his priorities.
In September of last year, several cases of corruption forced the resignation of the Minister of Defense Oleksí Réznikov, although he was not personally involved. One of which affected the supply of food to the army; another, the supply of uniforms. Réznikov was replaced by Rustem Umérov, who has promised to eradicate corruption.
"The Ministry of Defense continues the unyielding fight against those who embezzle money from the purchase of weapons," said Dmitro Klimenkov, Deputy Minister of Defense, on Saturday. "We fight not only against the Russian occupiers, but also against internal traitors", he assured.
In August 2023, Zelenski dismissed all regional officials in charge of military recruitment, to end a system in which some people managed to escape military service in exchange for bribes.
