Over 248 million hryvnias in damages: Prosecutors have announced suspicions in cases of abuse in defence sector. PHOTOS
Over the past two weeks, prosecutors of the specialised defence prosecutor's offices of the Prosecutor General's Office have been providing procedural guidance in pre-trial investigations that have established that the state suffered hundreds of millions of hryvnias in damages. During this time, prosecutors served notices of suspicion to 16 military officials and sent indictments against 12 people to court.
This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office, Censor.NET informs.
Who was notified of suspicion
The suspects include the former head of the Defence Ministry's Procurement Department, military unit commanders, service chiefs and heads of private enterprises. They acted in different regions and in different areas of army supply, but the consequences of their actions were the same - millions of dollars in losses for the state and a threat to the proper provision of military personnel. The total losses to the state exceed UAH 248 million.
The facts have been established:
- Supplying the Armed Forces of Ukraine with low-quality uniforms;
- purchase of low-quality software;
- illegal write-off and theft of diesel fuel;
- fraud with food for the military;
- illegal payments of remuneration.
The first of the established facts concerns the procurement of the Ministry of Defence. The former head of the Procurement Department was served a notice of suspicion under Part 4 of Art. 425 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. According to the investigation, due to improper performance of his official duties, the Armed Forces of Ukraine received uniforms of inadequate quality worth over UAH 230 million.
Another criminal proceeding is related to digital technologies. The commander of a military unit is charged with negligence, which led to the purchase of software unsuitable for military use.
The damage amounted to UAH 1.8 million. He was served a notice of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 425 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Another criminal proceeding concerns the illegal write-off and theft of diesel fuel worth UAH 1.7 million.
Prosecutors served notices of suspicion to the commander of the military unit, the deputy chief of the rear and the commander of the supply company, who organised the illegal write-off and theft of diesel fuel worth over UAH 1.7 million. The actions of these individuals are qualified under Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 114-1 and Part 4 of Article 410 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Significant violations were also recorded in the food supply sector. The director of a private enterprise, according to the investigation, misappropriated UAH 8 million of budget funds by supplying the military with food of inadequate quality. She was served a notice of suspicion under Part 5 Article 190 and Part 4 Article 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
A separate pre-trial investigation was completed against the chief of staff of the military unit. He allowed the illegal payment of almost UAH 5 million in additional remuneration to servicemen who did not take part in hostilities.
The indictment under Part 4 of Article 425 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine has been sent to court.
Everyone, regardless of their position or rank, will be held accountable under the law, which guarantees the rule of law in the defence sector and builds trust in state institutions.
