SBI has completed investigation into fraud with food supply to the Armed Forces of Ukraine by former Deputy Minister and Head of the Defence Ministry's Department

SBI employees in cooperation with the NABU have completed an investigation into the former Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine and the acting Director of the Department of public procurement and supply of material resources of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. They caused UAH 12 million in damage to the state when purchasing food for the army.

In December 2020 - January 2021, the head of the Ministry of Defence Department signed contracts for the procurement of catering services for the Armed Forces of Ukraine for 2021. Subsequently, on the instructions of the Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, he illegally signed 8 additional agreements with suppliers with terms that were deliberately unfavourable to the Armed Forces.

The SBI uncovered the fraud in October 2021 and subsequently transferred the case to the NABU. The subsequent joint investigation established that the officials' intentional unlawful actions also caused property damage to the Armed Forces of Ukraine through additional costs incurred by military units during the redistribution of fixed food stocks.

In addition, the deal led to a decrease in combat readiness and defence capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, undermined the authority of the Armed Forces and posed a potential threat to the foundations of Ukraine's national security.

The former Deputy Minister of Defence and the former head of a department of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine are suspected of:

• Abuse of power and official position, which caused grave consequences (part 2 of Article 28, part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);

• interfence with the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during a special period, which led to other grave consequences, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy (Article 28(2), Article 114-1(1) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The maximum sanction of the articles is imprisonment for a term of 5 to 8 years.

The Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office is in charge of the proceedings.