In Kyiv, law enforcement officers uncovered a scheme to sell decommissioned ships of the Ukrainian Navy
The Kyiv police, together with the Security Service of Ukraine, have uncovered a scheme for the illegal sale of warships that were written off from the balance sheet of the Ukrainian Navy. Three individuals have been charged in the case — an official of the Ministry of Defense and two employees of a state-owned enterprise. This was reported by the National Police of Ukraine.
As law enforcement officers noted:
“Investigators of the Kyiv police, together with the SBU, documented that businessmen organized the sale of decommissioned sea vessels as scrap metal at an undervalue, which caused losses to the state of over 900 thousand hryvnias.”
According to the investigation, one of the employees of the Ministry of Defense, who headed the department for the disposal of military property and had access to documents and write-off procedures, used his powers to circumvent the established procedure. Together with representatives of the State Enterprise “Ukrspetstorg”, he organized the sale of six ships, which, due to their obsolescence and poor technical condition, were subject to disposal by law.
Investigators established that the defendant ensured the conditions under which the ships ended up in a specific commercial structure. The NPU clarified:
“We are talking about six decommissioned ships, in particular “Fastiv”, “Evpatoria”, “Borshchiv” and others. The attackers’ plan was that instead of the procedure for disposing of the ships stipulated by law, they were artificially transferred to the lowest category for sale as scrap metal.”
Furthermore, according to the investigation, the participants in the scheme achieved an underestimation of the value of the metal and held a formal competition, the winner of which was determined in advance. Law enforcement officers indicate that the price was intentionally reduced several times compared to the market price, due to which the buyer received a significant benefit, and the state suffered losses.
Under the procedural guidance of the Kyiv Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the field of defense, three defendants were charged under Part 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – abuse of official position, committed by a group of persons in a prior conspiracy and with grave consequences.
Previously, the former head of the Department of State Procurement and Supply of Material Resources of the Ministry of Defense was suspected of negligent attitude to the service during the purchase of water for defense needs in wartime.
