"He "wrote off" UAH 94 million of penalties to Lviv businessman Hrynkevych for overdue contracts: ex-Ministry of Defense official served notice of suspicion. PHOTO
Under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor General's Office, the former director of a department of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine was served a notice of suspicion of abuse of office.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press centre of the Prosecutor General's Office.
According to the investigation, the suspect entered into contracts with companies controlled by the Lviv businessman for more than UAH 1.5 billion. According to these contracts, the companies were to supply the Ministry of Defense with military clothing within a certain period of time. However, at the time, these companies did not even have the production capacity to fulfill the terms of the contracts in a timely manner.
"In order to avoid large penalties, the entrepreneurs asked the suspect to recalculate them and reduce them as much as possible. For this purpose, the official of the Ministry of Defense unreasonably entered into additional agreements extending the terms of delivery of goods. Thus, the penalties for overdue contracts were reduced from almost UAH 98 million to UAH 4.5 million, i.e. by UAH 93.5 million," the statement said.
The issue of choosing a measure of restraint is currently being decided.
The pre-trial investigation and operational support is carried out by the SBI.
It is also recalled that a pre-trial investigation into five members of a criminal organisation has been completed into the fact that the Ministry of Defence caused more than a billion hryvnias in damage during the purchase of low-quality clothing for the Armed Forces. These are a Lviv businessman, his son, two directors and a representative of the companies.
Hrynkevych's Case
Earlier it was reported that the construction companies of Lviv businessman Ihor Hrynkevych received contracts worth UAH 1.5 billion from the Ministry of Defense in 2023 to supply summer clothing and underwear for the Armed Forces. At least 17 contracts have been canceled.
Censor.NET also wrote that SBI officers detained a Lviv businessman while he was trying to bribe one of the heads of the SBI's Main Investigation Department with $500,000. According to media reports, it was Ihor Hrynkevych. His face was revealed by law enforcement through anonymous telegram channels.
On December 29, it became known that a Lviv businessman, one of the largest suppliers to the Ministry of Defense, offered a bribe of $500,000 to the head of the SBI's Main Investigation Department. It was also reported that the Ministry of Defense had one unexpired contract with Hrynkevych's company, which supplies food to the military in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.
On January 22, 2023, at 6:50 a.m., law enforcement officers detained Roman Hrynkevych in Odesa while he was trying to leave the country. In the evening, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv imposed on Hrynkevych a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention until March 17 with an alternative bail of over UAH 500 million.
On February 12, the SBI reported that the real estate and vehicles of Ihor Hrynkevych, his family members - wife, son and mother-in-law - two of his accomplices and companies controlled by them were seized. Also, the property of Sofia Morozyuk, the former fiancée of Roman Hrynkevych, suspected of fraudulent supply of clothing to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was seized. This includes two apartments in Kyiv, one in Kharkiv, and a land plot.
On February 22, the Kyiv Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of Ihor Hrynkevych's lawyers against the decision of the Pecherskyi District Court. According to the decision, the defendant was sent to custody with the possibility of posting more than UAH 429 million in bail.
On March 17, Roman Hrynkevych's preventive measure was extended, and his bail was reduced to UAH 469 million.
Censor.NET also reported that under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Prosecutor General's Office, a pre-trial investigation was completed against five members of a criminal organization that caused the Ministry of Defense more than a billion hryvnias in damage when purchasing low-quality clothing for the Armed Forces.
