Approximately 11.5 million hryvnias embezzled: large-scale money laundering scheme by officials of National Guard unit exposed, - State Bureau of Investigation. PHOTOS
SBI officers jointly with the SSU and with the assistance of the National Guard command exposed an accountant of a military unit who transferred part of the money to third-party accounts when calculating the salaries of all servicemen.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the SBI press centre.
How did the scheme work?
As noted, the illegal scheme operated for several years, until the end of 2024. The amounts of underpayment to servicemen were deliberately small to avoid attracting attention - from UAH 30 to UAH 165. The money was transferred monthly to card accounts of people who were not on the military unit's roster. Their details were illegally entered into the table of settlement information provided to the banking institution.
As a result of the criminal scheme, its participants embezzled about UAH 11.5 million. The money was distributed in cash among the offenders after "laundering".
Suspicions
According to the SBI, the unit's accountant and civilian accomplices have been served with notices of suspicion of misappropriation of property by fraud committed on a particularly large scale by prior conspiracy, as well as of money laundering on a particularly large scale by prior conspiracy.
In addition, the current and former head of the financial department of a military unit were served with a notice of suspicion for improper performance of official duties, as they caused financial losses in the unit due to inadequate control over the expenditure of funds and failure to comply with financial discipline.
The accountant and the civilians involved face imprisonment for a term of eight to twelve years with confiscation of property, and the two heads of the financial department face five to eight years.
Investigators and prosecutors will apply to the court for a preventive measure in the form of detention.
Investigations are ongoing into other military officials and civilians who may have been involved in the illegal scheme.
