On October 7, 2024, the panel of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court (VACS) after a preliminary hearing decided on appointment to the hearing affairs regarding the embezzlement of 8.3 million US dollars during the purchase of equipment for the state joint-stock holding company “Artem”. This equipment was intended for serial production of 152/155-mm artillery shells, important for the defense sector of Ukraine.
The court session will be held on October 16, 2024.
It was previously established that in 2017, a foreign entrepreneur, having learned about the allocation of funds for the modernization of Artem’s production facilities, developed a plan to appropriate these funds. To implement his plan, he conspired with a number of officials, including the deputy minister. These officials secured the signing of a contract for the supply of equipment with a company registered in the United States under the guise of trucking, which in fact had the characteristics of a sham.
To hide the fraud and avoid competition, the company was presented as a certified supplier of products to the US Department of Defense, significantly inflating its figures. As a result, 8.3 million US dollars was transferred to the account of this company, which was half of the value of the contract. The very next day, these funds were transferred to other accounts and used for external needs unrelated to the performance of the contract.
This scam caused losses to the state company “Artem” in the amount of more than 225 million hryvnias.
We remind you that according to the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent until his guilt is proven in a legal manner and established by a court verdict.
