Ukraine says it has found embezzlement of $40 million in arms purchases

Ukrainian security services have revealed a new case of embezzlement, specifically involving officials of the Ministry of Defense.

Ukraine’s military officials and business leaders embezzled $40 million in weapons purchases at the start of the Moscow-initiated war, the country’s main intelligence and security agency, the SBU, has revealed.

The embezzlement took place in August 2022, six months after the Russian invasion of the country, according to an SBU press release issued overnight from Saturday to Sunday, as part of an overseas purchase of 100,000 mortar shells.

The funds (1.5 billion hrvynias) were actually embezzled by officials of the Ministry of Defense and the Lviv Arsenal Company, according to this source, with the complicity of a foreign company mandated for the purchase.

A suspect in custody

“A senior official of the Ministry of Defense and his predecessor, a director and sales manager of a Ukrainian company, as well as a representative of a foreign company were given a ‘notice of suspicion,'” the General Prosecutor’s Office said. .

One of the suspects is in custody after being arrested “during an attempt to leave Ukraine,” the SBU said.

The investigation was conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, the SBU and the Prosecutor’s Office stressed.

Since the outbreak of the war in February 2022, many cases of corruption have come to light in Ukraine, especially within this ministry. In August 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed all regional officials in charge of military conscription, due to exemptions granted for remuneration.

The fight against corruption is one of the main conditions set by the Twenty-seven to Ukraine as part of its application for membership in the European Union.