From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 1 hour ago, updated 16 minutes ago
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The two officers are accused of embezzling several million euros by purchasing inferior bulletproof vests.
The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office announced on Monday, November 6, that it had officially informed two Defense Ministry officials of an investigation targeting them for embezzling several million euros from the purchase of substandard bulletproof vests, a new case of corruption in this country facing a Russian invasion.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, a former deputy defense minister and one of his employees are being investigated for “misappropriation of public funds” and “a suspicious transaction report” has been filed.
The two men, whose names were not disclosed, “ordered personal protective equipment of inadequate quality from abroad” by paying for it in full in advance without following “the planned quality control procedure,” the State Investigation Bureau detailed in early October Anti-corruption agency.
“Life in danger”
“As a result, the Ukrainian Armed Forces received poor-quality bulletproof vests that cannot be used in combat without endangering human lives,” further denounced the Bureau of Investigation, which then estimated the fraud at more than six million euros.
The two men in custody face up to twelve years in prison. According to the Bureau of Investigation, these embezzlements represent a new episode in a broader affair totaling more than 36 million euros, relating in particular to contracts for the supply of substandard ammunition to the Ukrainian army.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has been rocked by multiple corruption cases since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, even forcing Defense Minister Oleksiï Reznikov to resign last September.
The fight against corruption, an endemic evil in the country, is one of the criteria set by the EU for considering the candidacy of Ukraine, which has received tens of billions of euros in Western aid since the start of the war.