In the Lviv region, law enforcement officers exposed the purchase of damaged generators for the military for over UAH 31 million. The participants of the criminal scheme were placed under night house arrest, and the commander was suspended from official duties, UNN reports with reference to the Office of the Prosecutor General and the State Bureau of Investigation.
Details
According to preliminary data, in the autumn of 2022, officials organized the purchase of generators at a deliberately inflated price through fictitious companies.
A civilian accomplice created two fictitious enterprises that had neither production facilities, nor warehouses, nor actual economic activity. In addition, she employed Russian citizens in these firms as director and accountant. The perpetrator bought cheap generators and resold them as branded ones. Despite this, the military unit concluded contracts with them for the supply of 152 generators for a total amount of over 31 million hryvnias.
It was established that the cost of the equipment was artificially inflated by more than 18 million hryvnias. In addition, the generators were of low power, unsuitable for operation in field conditions, and about half of them were damaged.
The investigation also found that before the agreement was concluded, the unit had already received powerful generators from philanthropists, so there was no objective need for new equipment.
During searches in the premises of the nominal heads of fictitious enterprises, the following were found: Russian passports, Russian and Soviet military symbols, financial documentation, correspondence, draft records regarding the purchase of generators, statutory documents with signs of fictitiousness.
The commander and the head of the electrical service were notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Art. 426-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (exceeding military official's authority or official powers in conditions of martial law). The civilian accomplice is additionally incriminated with complicity in committing a crime (Part 5 of Art. 27 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The sanctions of the articles provide for up to 12 years of imprisonment.
Add
All participants of the criminal scheme were placed under night house arrest, and the commander was suspended from official duties.
The prosecutors do not agree with the chosen preventive measure, considering it too lenient, and therefore appeal it.
At the same time, other persons involved in the illegal transaction are being identified. Prosecutors are taking measures to compensate for the damages caused to the state.