Five high-ranking officials are suspected of embezzling budget funds during procurement for the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Investigation Uncovers Details of the Embezzlement Scheme
Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine, together with detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, with the support of the Minister of Justice, documented the illegal activities of the former state secretary of the Ministry of Justice and several current top officials. According to law enforcement, the officials organized a scheme to appropriate over 10 million hryvnias during the procurement of specialized equipment for the digital modernization of the ministry.
Among the suspects are the former state secretary of the Ministry of Justice, as well as the current head and deputy head of one of the departments. They organized the procurement of server equipment and software intended to update the ministry’s electronic systems.
“According to the investigation, as early as 2021, the individuals involved initiated the signing of a contract with an affiliated private company for the purchase of new servers and software for the ministry for 19 million hryvnias. At the same time, the stated cost of the procurement significantly exceeded the average market prices for these types of goods and services.”
Suspicions and Evidence of Wrongdoing
As investigators established, more than half of the funds transferred from the state budget to the contractors’ accounts were appropriated by the organizers of the scheme. The results of comprehensive commodity and forensic-economic examinations confirmed the facts of abuses during the procurements.
Based on the collected evidence, the former state secretary, the head, and the deputy head of the department have been notified of suspicion under part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — misappropriation or embezzlement of property through abuse of office, committed on a particularly large scale.
In addition, suspicion under the same article has been announced to three other heads of the affiliated private company with which the contract for the supply of equipment was signed. Investigative actions are ongoing, and law enforcement is identifying all those involved in the organization and implementation of this corruption scheme.