Case has been sent to court: Seven members of scheme supplied defective beds to army at inflated prices. PHOTO
Prosecutors from the Vinnytsia Specialized Defense Prosecutor’s Office of the Southern Region have sent an indictment to court against seven individuals accused of embezzling more than ₴2.7 million from the defense budget during the procurement of army beds.
Among the the defendants are the former head of the Vinnytsia Housing and Maintenance Department, three of his subordinates, and three entrepreneurs, Censor.NET reports.
Details of the scheme
At the end of 2022, one of the entrepreneurs reoriented his furniture manufacturing company to supply bunk beds for the army.
Taking advantage of the simplified procurement procedure during martial law, he sold the products to the state at nearly twice their market value. Some of the beds turned out to be of poor quality and unfit for use.
The businessman involved two other entrepreneurs he knew and the former head of the Vinnytsia Housing and Maintenance Department in the scheme.
Officials and their subordinates signed a contract to supply 1,400 beds worth ₴7.9 million without conducting a tender. To create an appearance of competition, they used companies controlled by the same participants in the scheme.
As a result of these actions, the state lost more than 2.7 million hryvnias.
"Part of the damages has already been reimbursed, but the state has not received full compensation. Therefore, the prosecution has filed a lawsuit seeking an additional ₴2.3 million in favor of the state," said Bohdan Lutsenko, Deputy Head of the Vinnytsia Specialized Defense Prosecutor’s Office of the Southern Region.
The defendants are charged with organizing and embezzling public property through abuse of office, committed by an organized group.
