Ukraine detains defence official over alleged $40 million artillery fraud

A high-ranking official within the Ukrainian Defence Ministry has been apprehended on charges of embezzling USD 40 million (1.5 billion Ukrainian hryvnia) related to a contract for artillery shells, the news channel reported the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).
The SBU alleged that the official, in December of the previous year, entered into an agreement with a specialised export company for the procurement of a substantial batch of artillery shells.
Subsequently, a more advantageous contract for the supply of these shells, excluding intermediaries, thereby reducing delivery time and costs, was later signed with the same manufacturer, the news channel reported.
According to the SBU, the defence official extended the original, costlier contract, resulting in the transfer of funds amounting to USD 40 million to the accounts of a connected foreign intermediary firm. The SBU claimed that it is in possession of documents substantiating these illicit activities, with the accused facing a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years if proven guilty. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has initiated efforts to recover the misappropriated funds. Illarion Pavliuk, head of the Press and Information Department of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, clarified that the contract involved payment without corresponding deliveries. Consequently, legal experts are exploring avenues to terminate the contract and reclaim the embezzled funds. In September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, citing the necessity for ‘new approaches’ amid numerous corruption scandals involving Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence.