The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has conducted raids at a number of enterprises in the capital city of Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions as part of criminal proceedings related to the Defense Ministry's purchases of military hardware, equipment, and services of inadequate quality at inflated prices.
In particular, the searches were conducted at PrSC Kuznya on Rybalsky Plant and PJSC Automobile Company Bogdan Motors, the SBI's press service said on its website on April 29.
According to the pretrial investigation, the said enterprises in 2015-2019 signed contracts with the Defense Ministry for supplies of military vehicles and equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and provision of services for the maintenance of warship units.
This refers to the supplies of more than 300 Bogdan 2251 ambulances, over 800 off-road trucks MAZ 63172, repair and upgrading of the Hetman Sahaidachny frigate, the purchase of small armored artillery boats Gyurza-M and Centaur, etc.
"The pretrial investigation into the possible abuse of power by officials of Ukraine's Defense Ministry is underway. This concerns unreasonably high quotations of goods and services and supplies of commodities of poor quality to the Armed Forces of Ukraine during a special period [when the country is at war]," the SBI said.
The probe is related to the failure of business entities to provide the required documentation.
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Background
- In February 2019, investigative journalists with Bihus.Info published information that Oleh Hladkovsky, former Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and Head of Bogdan Corporation, and his son, Ihor, were involved in corrupt schemes for purchases of Russian spare parts for Ukrainian military hardware.
- Ukraine's fifth President Petro Poroshenko between the first and second rounds of the 2019 presidential election signed a decree to dismiss Hladkovsky.
- In the summer of 2020, prosecutors with the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) and detectives with the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) completed a pretrial investigation into the Hladkovsky case. He is suspected of abuse of office. As a result, the state incurred over UAH 10.62 million (US$382,703) in losses.
- On April 22, 2021, NABU put Ihor Hladkovsky on the wanted list.
- On April 28, 2021, SBI agents conducted searches in premises of Kuznya on Rybalsky Plant and Automobile Company Bogdan Motors.
