Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), in collaboration with top military officials, has exposed a massive embezzlement scheme within the Defense Ministry, involving about $40 million earmarked for 100,000 mortar shells, implicating dubious arms contractors and bureaucrats, the SBU reports.
From: Euromaiden Press BY YURI ZORIA
A massive embezzlement scheme at Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has been exposed in a joint operation by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and top military leadership, SBU says. The agency says nearly UAH 1.5 billion (about $40 million) budgeted for 100,000 mortar shells was swindled by shady weapons contractors and complicit bureaucrats.
As Ukraine persists in its defense against Russian aggression, the nation’s law enforcement agencies remain active in uncovering and addressing suspected corruption schemes and their participants, underscoring ongoing anti-graft efforts.
SBU notes the crime documentation was carried out with the full assistance of the incumbent Defense Minister, and the investigators found that former and current officials tasked with arms procurement conspired with executives of the major state-owned defense supplier Lviv Arsenal. The perpetrators set up a dodgy contract in August 2022 to purchase a huge batch of ammunition using Lviv Arsenal as a front company.
Voice of Ukraine 