One of the Ukrainian Armed Forces brigades exposed the embezzlement of funds for the purchase of drones
The head of the financial and economic service of one of the brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was exposed in the Kyiv region for embezzling money for the purchase of combat drones, the Security Service of Ukraine reports.
"These are unmanned aircraft complexes that the unit uses for aerial reconnaissance and adjusting artillery fire on the assault groups of the invaders in the Kramatorsk direction," the SSU reported.
It is noted that to implement the deal, the chief financial officer of the brigade concluded several contracts at inflated prices with his friend's company. In one of the documented episodes alone, the suspects embezzled almost UAH 2 million for the purchase of unmanned systems.
The SSU noted that this money could have purchased several more wholesale batches of reconnaissance UAVs for the needs of Ukrainian soldiers in 24/7 mode.
"The forensic economic examination initiated by law enforcement officers confirmed the facts of embezzlement of public funds. During searches of the places of work and residence of the suspects, documentation confirming the transaction was discovered," the Security Service added.
Based on the collected evidence, the chief financial officer of the brigade and his accomplice-entrepreneur were notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (embezzlement, embezzlement of property or taking possession of it by abuse of official position).
An investigation is currently underway to establish all the circumstances of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. The perpetrators face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
The scheme to embezzle defense funds was eliminated by the military counterintelligence of the Security Service and the BEB with the assistance of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Land Forces Command.
By the way, recently a Defense Ministry official was exposed for embezzling budget funds for the repair of armored personnel carriers.