Investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation, with the support of the Security Service of Ukraine, uncovered a corruption scheme and served notices of suspicion to officials of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and to the director of a private enterprise, whose actions caused losses to the state amounting to 25.7 million UAH.
According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the SBI press service.
The investigation established that in September 2024, one of the state-owned enterprises under the Ministry of Defense signed a contract for the procurement of 18,000 ballistic eyewear. However, the supplied eyewear did not meet the declared specifications and failed to provide adequate protection against fragments. According to the agency, this was confirmed by testing carried out by the Research Center for Testing, Expertise, and Certification of Personal Armored Protection of the National Defense University of Ukraine. SBI investigators conducted searches at the residences and workplaces of the suspects, seizing documents and electronic media containing procurement data.
As the Office of the Prosecutor General noted, the head of a specialized unit and other Ministry officials failed to properly oversee the quality of the supplied equipment.
Although the first product samples received negative results in laboratory tests, no repeat testing in accredited laboratories was initiated. Instead, the supplier submitted favorable testing protocols from another organization, and the head of the specialized unit of the Ministry of Defense approved the batch of goods as compliant.
The supplying company then delivered the eyewear to a military unit and received the allocated budget funds. As a result, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine sustained material losses exceeding 25.7 million UAH.
Law enforcement officers detained the director of the supplying company. He is charged with misappropriation of property through abuse of office in especially large amounts, committed under martial law (Part 5, Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
A former official of the Central Directorate for Quality Control of the Ministry of Defense, who was responsible for monitoring product quality but committed official negligence, was also served with a notice of suspicion (Part 4, Article 425 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, with the full range of Ministry of Defense officials involved in the offense still being identified.
As reported by Ukrinform, a limited liability company with which the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration signed a contract in 2024 for the construction of fortifications has been ordered by the court to return almost 900,000 UAH to the state budget.
