SBI completes investigation into procurement of low-quality clothing for the Armed Forces worth over UAH 1 billion (video)
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) completed the pre-trial investigation investigation in the case of a Lviv businessman and members of a criminal organization who were involved in the supply of poor-quality military clothing for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the amount of over 1 billion hryvnias.
The defense has already been given the materials of the criminal proceedings for perusal. After that, the indictment will be submitted to the court.
The organizer of this scheme was an entrepreneur from Lviv, who involved his son and several other people in it. In 2023, their controlled companies concluded contracts with the Ministry of Defense for the supply of military clothing for a total amount of over 1.8 billion hryvnias. During the year, the Ministry of Defense received clothing in the amount of almost 1.2 billion hryvnias, however, according to the results of examinations, the supplied products did not meet the technical requirements and could not be used as intended due to low quality.
This scheme led to state losses in the amount of 1 billion 167 million hryvnias.
The SBI detained the members of the criminal organization and informed them of the suspicions. Precautionary measures in the form of detention were chosen for the detainees, and one of the persons involved was declared an international wanted person. They are accused of creating and leading a criminal organization, participating in it, fraud on a particularly large scale and legalization of illegally obtained property (Articles 255, 190, 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). These offenses can result in a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
The SBI also took steps to compensate for the damages by seizing the properties of the suspects. Procedural management of the case is carried out by the Prosecutor General’s Office.
It is worth noting that an indictment against the same businessman who tried to pay a bribe of 500,000 USD to the head of the Main Investigative Department of the State Security Bureau was previously submitted to the court. The money was intended to assist in the return of confiscated property and the closing of criminal proceedings against companies that are one of the largest suppliers of the Ministry of Defense.
