KYIV, Ukraine — Employees from a Ukrainian arms firm
conspired with defense ministry officials to embezzle almost $40 million
earmarked to
buy 100,000 mortar shells for the war with Russia, Ukraine’s security
service reported.
The SBU said late Saturday that five people have been
charged, with one person detained while trying to cross the Ukrainian border.
If found guilty, they face up to 12 years in prison.
The investigation comes as Kyiv attempts to clamp down on
corruption in a bid to speed up its membership in the European Union and NATO.
Officials from both blocs have demanded widespread anti-graft
reforms before Kyiv can join them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was
elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2019, long before Russia’s
full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Five individuals have been charged in the conspiracy and one
was detained at the border.AP
Individuals from the Ukrainian arms firm conspired with
defense ministry officials to embezzle $40 million that was intended for mortar
shells.AP
Both the president and his aides have portrayed the recent
firings of top officials, notably
that of Ivan Bakanov, former head of the State Security Service, in July
2022, as proof of their efforts to crack down on graft.
Security officials say that the current investigation dates
back to August 2022, when officials signed a contract for artillery shells
worth 1.5 billion hryvnias ($39.6 million) with arms firm Lviv Arsenal.
After receiving payment, company employees were supposed to
transfer the funds to a business registered abroad, which would then deliver
the ammunition to Ukraine.
Ivan Bakanov, former head of the State Security Service, was
fired in 2022, which Zolonskey cites as a proof 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.
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