Ukraine says corrupt officials stole $60m meant for war with Russia

Ukraine says corrupt officials stole m meant for war with Russia
Employees from a Ukrainian arms agency conspired with defence ministry officers to embezzle nearly $60 million earmarked to purchase 100,000 mortar shells for the battle with Russia, Ukraine’s safety service has reported.

The SBU mentioned late on Saturday (yesterday AEDT) that 5 folks have been charged, with one particular person detained whereas making an attempt to cross the Ukrainian border. If discovered responsible, they resist 12 years in jail.

The investigation comes as Kyiv makes an attempt to clamp down on corruption in a bid to hurry up its membership within the European Union and NATO.
Employees from a Ukrainian arms agency conspired with defence ministry officers to embezzle nearly $40 million earmarked to purchase 100,000 mortar shells for the battle with Russia, Ukraine’s safety service has reported. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko, File)

Officials from each blocs have demanded widespread anti-graft reforms earlier than Kyiv can be a part of them.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2019, lengthy earlier than Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Both the president and his aides have portrayed the current firings of prime officers, notably that of Ivan Bakanov, former head of the State Security Service, in July 2022, as proof of their efforts to crack down on graft.

Security officers say that the present investigation dates again to August 2022, when officers signed a contract for artillery shells value 1.5 billion hryvnias ($60.2 million) with arms agency Lviv Arsenal.

After receiving fee, firm workers had been purported to switch the funds to a business registered overseas, which might then ship the ammunition to Ukraine.

However, the products had been by no means delivered and the cash was as a substitute despatched to varied accounts in Ukraine and the Balkans, investigators mentioned.

Ukraine’s prosecutor normal says that the funds have since been seized and shall be returned to the nation’s defence funds.

Source: www.9news.com.au