Ukraine's security agency discovered a group of officials who overpaid about $40 million for a "ghost contract" to buy 100,000 mortar shells.
"The investigation has exposed the wrongdoings of Defense Ministry officials and managers of the Lviv Arsenal arms supplier, who pocketed almost 1.5 billion hryvnia ($39.6 million) in a contract to purchase mortar shells," the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on January 27.
According to the SBU, the investigation found that a number of former and current senior officials of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry signed a contract to purchase 100,000 mortar shells for the army from Lviv Arsenal in August 2022, six months after the outbreak of hostilities.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense paid the entire contract amount in advance to Lviv Arsenal's account, but the company did not deliver any ammunition, transferring the money to the account of another affiliated company in the Balkans. The remaining amount remains in Lviv Arsenal's account at a bank in Kiev.
Ukrainian soldiers prepare mortar shells at the front line in Mykolaiv province, Ukraine in October 2022. Photo: Reuters
The SBU said it was investigating five officials at the Defense Ministry and Lviv Arsenal in connection with the corruption. One suspect was arrested while trying to cross the border.
The corruption scandal is expected to have a major impact in a country besieged by war for nearly two years. Military corruption is a particularly sensitive issue in Ukraine, as the country struggles to maintain its wartime morale and hopes to join the European Union.
Former Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov was dismissed last September over multiple corruption cases within the force he led. Mr. Reznikov himself has not been accused of corruption, but several cases have occurred within his group of officials.
Huyen Le (According to Reuters, Pravda )
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