Billions in losses from supply of defective mines to Armed Forces: SBI has revealed details
The State Bureau of Investigations has revealed details of a large-scale deal involving the supply of substandard mines for Ukraine's defence needs.
This was reported by Censor.NET.
What is known?
During a press conference, investigators from the State Bureau of Investigations revealed new details of the large-scale scheme.
We are talking about possible losses to the state amounting to billions of hryvnias.
Colonel Vadym Pryimachok, head of the SBI's management department, said that the delivery of substandard anti-personnel and anti-tank mines to the Defence Forces had been documented.
"There was a deliberate violation of the manufacturing technology for these devices. They were equipped with poor-quality casings and plastic that cracked in the cold and upon impact. Even when the mines were delivered directly to combat positions, they were already cracked and posed a threat to the military," he said.
Also, according to Pryimachok, the mines were equipped with low-quality explosives.
"The manufacturers knew that it was of poor quality. This was confirmed by us during covert investigative activities. The products are substandard, but no measures were taken to remedy the situation. They continued to fill the mine casings with poor-quality explosives and made no structural changes to the casings.
When defects were found, they were taken back to the factory. There were even cases when they spent the whole night painting, soldering, gluing the sleeves and delivering them the next day to the military units for acceptance," he added.
The Bureau noted that the company previously manufactured optical devices and smoke screens. They had no connection to explosive devices. The pre-trial investigation is still ongoing.
Ten people have been notified of suspicion. They face up to 13 years in prison.
Defective mines for the Armed Forces
- The Office of the Prosecutor General, together with the State Bureau of Investigation, has uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme in the field of defence procurement involving the supply of defective mines and the misappropriation of budget funds.
- The total amount of damage caused to the state, according to preliminary estimates, is 2.994 billion hryvnias.
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Within the framework of the proceedings, 10 persons have been notified of suspicion, including:
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representatives and management of the supplier company;
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accounting department employees;
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the head of the co-contractor;
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officials of military representative offices.
Four suspects have been detained.
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