Large-scale activities of the conversion center exposed: almost 600 million UAH from defense contracts
Law enforcement agencies reported the discovery of a large-scale conversion center through which 578 million hryvnias received under contracts related to the defense sector were illegally legalized. Information about the results of the investigation was released by the press services of the National Police and the National Police. href=”https://gp.gov.ua/ua/posts/ponad-piv-milyarda-griven-oboronnix-kostiv-namagalisya-vidmiti-cerez-fiktivni-kompaniyi?fbclid=IwY2xjawOswqJleHRuA2FlbQIxMAB icmlkETE2cm5LY2tUWWh6aFpJZWkyc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmu1EihLxMUz2yfDTTp3RANzk6irRvyxOjcl3nJ5Gwl6SeUx57R-aof1OFj4_aem_MerLBTwSQkpHyqNuqrvu5Q” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Office of the Prosecutor General.
In the course of the investigation, it was established that it is private the company received budget funding to perform repair and maintenance work on military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, instead of actually fulfilling the obligations, a significant part of the funds was transferred through a specially created conversion center to the accounts of controlled fictitious enterprises.
According to the documents, such payments were made out as the purchase of components or payment for work performed. In reality, these financial transactions were used to withdraw and appropriate budget funds by the organizers of the scheme.
Investigators found out that the money was transferred to the accounts of fictitious companies, after which it was withdrawn in cash. The received amounts were transferred to the scheme’s customers for a certain percentage, which was paid for “serving” illegal operations.
It was also established that the nominal managers of the fictitious enterprises are citizens of Ukraine, who have been living in the temporarily occupied territories of the so-called “DPR” since 2014, openly supporting the Russian authorities and armed aggression against Ukraine. One of these individuals works in the educational sector and even received the distinction “Teacher of Russia”.
At the same time, the founders of these enterprises were formally listed as citizens of the Republic of Poland. However, according to the responses of the competent Polish authorities, the aforementioned individuals turned out to be fictitious and do not actually exist.
As part of the pre-trial investigation, law enforcement officers conducted more than 40 searches. During the investigation, financial and business documentation, mobile phones, electronic data carriers and official correspondence were seized, which reflect in detail the mechanisms of the conversion center’s work. In addition, law enforcement officers arrested three premium cars.
Currently, three participants in the criminal scheme have been charged with money laundering. If found guilty, they face up to twelve years in prison with confiscation of property.
It was also previously reported that law enforcement agencies had dismantled the illegal production of tobacco products, which operated in the Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv and Odessa regions, and the products were sold in large volumes throughout Ukraine.
