Photo from UNIAN

Operatives of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) are raiding the premises of PJSC "Automobile Company Bogdan Motors," including 5th Element Club [on Kyiv's Rybalskyi Peninsula], as part of their probe into a large-scale state property embezzlement by defense ministry and general staff officials.

"In response to media inquiries, we'd like to inform you that NABU detectives, under the procedural guidance of the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), are conducting searches at the premises of PJSC 'Automobile Company Bogdan Motors,' including at 5th Element Club," NABU's press service said.

NABU said the investigative action was warranted and carried out as part of a probe into a large-scale state property embezzlement by officials of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who in 2015-2018 illegally added to the state defense order special motor vehicles and carried out procurement at inflated prices. The crime's preliminary legal qualification is Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

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The investigation was launched in April 2018, the report says.

NABU said so far this is all the information that is allowed to be disclosed, given the need to preserve the secrecy of the investigation.

The 5th Element Sports Club belongs to former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and his ally Ihor Kononenko, who are both running for parliament in the upcoming snap elections.

As UNIAN reported, on July 12, investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation searched the Fiscal Service and the Kharkiv Customs Office.