The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has authorized an interim commission of inquiry (ICI) to probe into a media report on army procurement fraud involving state-run Ukroboronprom Concern.
The parliament passed a resolution on an urgent investigation into the facts made public in the media about fraud involving Ukroboronprom and senior officials (No. 10104). The motion was tabled by the chairmen of the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko and People's Front parliamentary factions, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
The relevant decision was backed by 229 MPs registered in the session hall with the minimum required being 226 votes.
According to the resolution, the powers of the parliament's ICI to probe into facts of embezzlement in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and undermining of the state's defense capability from 2004 to 2017 cover any offenses in the defense sphere, including in 2018-2019.
The lawmakers instructed the ICI to immediately investigate the materials that were made public in the media about the purchase of spare parts, components and equipment for Ukroboronprom's enterprises at prices inflated two to four times higher than the purchase price.
In addition, the ICI was instructed to hold an open meeting together with representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office, the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office, the National Anti-corruption Bureau, the Ministry of Defense, the Ukroboronprom group of companies and other officials to investigate the facts of army procurement fraud.
The resolution states the parliament should an ICI progress report at its next plenary session.
It was recommended that members of the Parliamentary National Security and Defense Committee, the Committee on the Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption, the Committee on Legislative Support of Law Enforcement Activities take part in the commission's work.
As UNIAN reported earlier, investigative journalists from the Nashi Groshi project shared a video on February 25, 2019, with results of their probe into in large-scale embezzlement of budget funds in the defense complex. The journalists claim Ihor Hladkovsky, the son of First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleh Hladkovsky, as well as heads of enterprises incorporated into Ukroboronprom, and other senior officials were involved in the fraud schemes.
