Amid the continued battle with Russia, Ukraine has uncovered corruption price about $40 million within the buy of arms for the army. On Saturday, Ukraine’s SBU safety service gave particulars concerning the mass procurement fraud, reported information company Reuters. The fraud entails the acquisition of 100,000 mortar shells for the Ukrainian army.
The SBU mentioned an investigation had “uncovered officers of the Ministry of Defense and managers of arms provider Lviv Arsenal, who stole practically 1.5 billion hryvnias within the buy of shells.”
As per the investigation, former and present high-ranking officers of the Ministry of Defense and heads of affiliated corporations are concerned within the fraud.
The SBU mentioned six months into the Russia-Ukraine battle, a contract for the shells was clinched with Lviv Arsenal in August 2022 and cost was made upfront, with some funds transferred overseas. But no arms had been ever offered, the assertion mentioned, with some funds then moved to different overseas accounts.
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Legal proceedings have began in opposition to suspects, with 5 people getting “notices of suspicion” – each within the ministry and the arms provider. One suspect was caught whereas attempting to go away Ukraine.
In September 2023, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was eliminated over a number of corruption circumstances that emerged throughout his tenure. One corruption case concerned the availability of meals to troops, one other was linked to the procurement of appropriate clothes for servicemen.
Meanwhile, the continued Russia-Ukraine battle is near finishing two years since Russian forces invaded the nation. In the continued offensive, Russia claims to have annexed components of Ukraine. Regular change of fireplace between the forces of each international locations has resulted within the deaths of hundreds, together with troopers and civilians.