Corruption in defense sector: NABU and SAPO expose ₴90 million embezzlement on drones. VIDEO
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have exposed a scheme to embezzle over ₴90 million during drone procurements for the Defense Forces. Officials of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection and private company representatives inflated prices for DJI and Autel UAVs and transferred the funds abroad.
This was reported by the NABU press service, Censor.NET reports.
Drone supplies at inflated prices
According to the investigation, after the adoption of amendments to the State Budget in 2023, the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection was allocated UAH 30 billion for the purchase of UAVs. The head of one of the department's departments came up with a plan to embezzle some of these funds.
The scheme involved supplying drones at inflated prices through preselected companies. To ensure their victory in tenders, affiliated firms were engaged to imitate competition, along with falsified market research.
The state suffered losses of over UAH 90 million
Thus, in May-September 2023, the State Special Communications Service purchased 400 DJI Mavic 3 drones and 1300 Autel Evo Max 4T drones at prices that were 70-90% higher than market prices. As a result, the state suffered losses of more than UAH 90 million.
The participants of the scheme withdrew these funds to the accounts of controlled companies, in particular abroad.
Accounts of companies abroad and in Ukraine seized
Thanks to timely actions by NABU and SAPO, more than USD 4 million in foreign company accounts and UAH 17 million in Ukrainian accounts have been frozen.
Officials of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection are suspected
Two officials of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection and two representatives of private companies have been served with a notice of suspicion of embezzlement on a large scale.
