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Russia war: Ukraine says it uncovers $40 million fraud in weapons procurement | Details
Ukraine said former and current high-ranking officials of the ministry of defence and heads of affiliated companies are involved in the fraud.
Amid the ongoing war with Russia, Ukraine has uncovered corruption worth about $40 million in the purchase of arms for the military. On Saturday, Ukraine's SBU security service gave details about the mass procurement fraud, reported news agency Reuters. The fraud involves the purchase of 100,000 mortar shells for the Ukrainian military.
The SBU said an investigation had "exposed officials of the Ministry of Defence and managers of arms supplier Lviv Arsenal, who stole nearly 1.5 billion hryvnias in the purchase of shells."
As per the investigation, former and current high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defence and heads of affiliated companies are involved in the fraud.
The SBU said six months into the Russia-Ukraine war, a contract for the shells was clinched with Lviv Arsenal in August 2022 and payment was made in advance, with some funds transferred abroad. But no arms were ever provided, the statement said, with some funds then moved to other foreign accounts.
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Legal proceedings have started against suspects, with five individuals getting "notices of suspicion" - both in the ministry and the arms supplier. One suspect was caught while trying to leave Ukraine.
In September 2023, Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov was removed over several corruption cases that emerged during his tenure. One corruption case involved supply of food to troops, another was linked to procurement of suitable clothing for servicemen.
Meanwhile, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine is close to completing two years since Russian forces invaded the country. In the ongoing offensive, Russia claims to have annexed parts of Ukraine. Regular exchange of fire between the forces of both countries, has resulted in the deaths of thousands, including soldiers and civilians.
