NABU and SAPO exposed a scheme of embezzlement of funds for the Armed Forces of Ukraine for UAH 246 million
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) have exposed a large-scale corruption scheme in the defense sector, due to which the state lost 246 million hryvnias. About this informs NABU press office.
“This is about abuse during the development of the automated system of the Center for Operational Management of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “Dzvin”. Among the suspects are the former deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, lieutenant general; the former chief of communications forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, major general; the former head of the Department of Automation Development of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, colonel; the director of a private company – the main contractor.” – the message says.
According to the investigation, in 2016 the Ministry of Defense signed a contract for the development of the system with a commercial company that had no experience in creating software. Over the course of four years, the technical task was changed 13 times, which made it possible to increase the cost of the works by UAH 300 million. In addition, without justification, the number of test samples of the system was increased from four to 12, which caused additional costs for adjusting documentation in the amount of UAH 115 million.
As the law enforcement officers established, the developed system did not meet the technical requirements: it was not compatible with NATO protocols and did not integrate with other military systems. In addition, part of the software is not used at all. Of the planned 200 information and calculation tasks, only 10 were actually implemented.
“During the investigation, detectives and prosecutors encountered attempts to hinder the investigation: the individuals involved in the scheme began to hide key documentation regarding the financing and development of the project. Also, after the investigation began, they sped up the work and even modernized the system for free, trying to make it more similar to the original plan. However, due to fundamental errors in the architecture, finalization of the “Dzvin” system is impossible.” – noted in NABU.
