NABU and SAP completed the investigation in the case of embezzlement of state funds during the purchase of products for the army

NABU and SAP announced the completion of the investigation into the embezzlement of state funds during the procurement of products for the Armed Forces Ministry of Defense. After the defense has reviewed the investigation materials, the case will be referred to the court.

According to information of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, among the suspects are the former inspector of the Ministry of Defense Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and the owner of related supply companies Tetyana Glynyana.

The investigation revealed that the price of the grocery set was formed for all items from the catalog based on the average cost. This created an opportunity for suppliers to manipulate: significantly overestimate the price of the most popular goods and at the same time understate the price of unpopular or seasonal ones. As a result, there was an impression that there were no violations, and the total price of the set remained unchanged. However, potatoes, which were supplied in thousands of tons, were sold three times more expensively, while berries or fruits, which were almost never purchased, cost a penny.

Thanks to such a scheme, two supplier companies, which belonged to the same owner, illegally received more than 733 million hryvnias in profit. This is confirmed by the conclusions of a complex commodity science and economic examination. Part of this money was withdrawn under the guise of paying dividends and providing returnable financial assistance to related structures. According to the investigation, the owner could use these funds to buy hotels in Croatia and other real estate.

An official of the Ministry of Defense was also involved in the scheme, who during the conclusion of the contracts “did not notice” anomalies in catalog prices. When the information got into the media, the participants of the scheme were forced to reduce the price of the eleven most demanded products, which allowed to save 788 million hryvnias for the budget. At the initiative of NABU and SAP, the Ministry of Defense changed the procurement procedure. The actions of the participants are qualified under part 5 of Art. 191, Part 2 of Art. 15, part 5 of Art. 191 and Part 3 of Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.