Umierov destroyed main anti-corruption reform in defense sector by amending charters of DPA and DOT - Shabunin
Defense Minister Rustem Umierov has amended the charters of the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) and the State Logistics Operator (DOT), which undermine the entire essence of the defense procurement reform, which was launched after the scandal with " eggs for 17" under former Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
This was stated by the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center Vitalii Shabunin, Censor.NET reports.
According to him, with these changes, Umierov granted himself the following powers:
"1. To oblige agency officials to conclude (or terminate) agreements without regard to the position of the directors, their deputies or supervisory boards. For example, if he ordered to buy inoperable 120-mm mines or 152-mm shells with an overpayment of 90 million euros, the DPA will buy them immediately and without any questions.
2. At any time, dismiss (or appoint) agency directors (and their deputies), as well as anyone else - up to the heads of departments. Of course, without coordinating all this with the Supervisory Boards of the agencies," Shabunin said.
The AntAC chairman noted that with these changes to the charter, Umierov "completely destroyed the independence of both procurement agencies."
"All that remains is a screen behind which all financial and personnel decisions are made by Defense Minister Zelenskyy," he emphasizes.
"And now, a summary of the previous episodes to clearly see the whole picture:
1) The Ministry of Defense has been delaying the creation of the supervisory boards of the DPA (and DOT) for nine months: elected members have not been appointed for months. Only after the scandal did Umierov finally issue the order.
2) At this time, the Ministry of Defense is trying to destroy the DPA by "merging" it with the DOT. Only after a scandal does Umerov back down (temporarily).
3) Corruption scandals erupt with: the taking of 23 yards from the DPA for a "Polish contract" with an overpayment of 90 million euros; tens of thousands of inoperable mines that the military authorities of the Ministry of Defense allowed to the front, and the desire to order hundreds of thousands more ammunition from the same manufacturer in 2025.
4) And finally, the changes to the charters of the DPA and DOT, which completely eliminate the independence of the procurement agencies, putting financial and personnel decisions in the hands of Defense Minister Zelenskyy," Shabunin adds.
As a reminder, the online voting for members of the Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has been postponed to January 7, 2025.
