The Public Anti-Corruption Council under the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine called for an immediate audit and urgent analysis of the production capabilities of the defense plant in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which supplied the Armed Forces with substandard 120-mm mortar mines, reports UNN.
Details
The Public Anti-Corruption Council reminded that last week the SBU detained the general director of one of the largest state defense plants in the case of supplying substandard 120-mm mortar mines to the army.
According to media reports, it is about the general director of the defense plant, Leonid Shiman.
The first deputy director of the plant and two employees of the Ministry of Defense (one of them former), who were supposed to be responsible for checking the quality of mines and monitoring the technological process, were also detained.
This scandal is well-known, and the Public Anti-Corruption Council of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine submitted statements about the crime in this case with names and figures, which cannot be named publicly, to the NABU and the SBI. At the same time, we understand a few more things that remained outside the scope of public discussion
The Public Anti-Corruption Council of the Ministry of Defense emphasizes that in the case of the purchase of substandard mines, the number of detainees and suspects cannot be limited to only the above-mentioned four persons.
Someone gave orders to conclude new contracts for the supply of new batches of mines after the high-profile scandal, someone concluded these contracts, someone lobbied for more and more transfers of state funds. All these "someone" must be named to the public by name
It is also noted that several corruption cases have long been initiated against the director of the plant by various law enforcement agencies.
"At the same time, it is clear that corruption in large-scale production is impossible to engage in only as part of the general director and his deputy. But no criminal cases have been opened against other top managers of the plant so far, they are not summoned for questioning (according to information as of now).
By and large, something like a financial pyramid has been created around the plant over the past year. The plant was entrusted with the execution of a contract for the supply of ammunition, papers were signed, the plant did not fulfill the order on time. Then the papers were rewritten, "additions" were added to the old contracts, which extended the term of the contract, and... a new contract was concluded for an even larger volume!", - the Public Anti-Corruption Council of the Ministry of Defense emphasizes.
It is reported that as of the time of the director's arrest, the plant owed the Defense Forces hundreds of thousands of ammunition.
This means that the army did not receive them in a timely manner, and this in turn means that it cost us the lives of soldiers, territories, and victims among the civilian population. The "pyramid" mentioned above had every chance of collapsing even without the detention of the long-term head of the plant. The volume of unfulfilled ammunition supplies increased every month, and sooner or later this number itself would become too large even for those who lobbied for more and more contracts with the plant
The Public Anti-Corruption Council states that now, after the detention of the head of the plant, the "pyramid" will obviously crumble within a very short time. Because, as a rule, with a sharp change in leadership, especially a long-term one (and the current director has been managing the plant since the last century), the new management will need up to a year or even more to delve into all production processes, understand financial flows, including corruption, deal with accounting, review contracts, reassure suppliers and bring in a new team of managers.
The Defense Forces do not have this time. The Public Anti-Corruption Council of the Ministry of Defense, which has the numbers and contract numbers at its disposal, sent letters to the relevant departments and ministries with a request, in particular, to urgently bring a professional team of managers with experience in crisis management of enterprises to the plant, conduct an audit and an urgent analysis of the plant's production capabilities (primarily the real availability of powders), which should provide an answer to the question regarding the actual number of ammunition that can be supplied to the Defense Forces of Ukraine within the terms specified in the contracts in the shortest possible time
It is also noted that after a clear understanding of the gap between the volume of contracted supplies and the real production capabilities of the enterprise, negotiations should be held with other manufacturers and suppliers of ammunition of the corresponding calibers.
The Public Anti-Corruption Council of the Ministry of Defense emphasizes that additional agreements to the existing contracts must reduce the volume of the plant's obligations with the return of the corresponding funds, so that they can be redistributed to cover the needs of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
"If other manufacturers and suppliers cannot provide the required amount of ammunition, a decision should be made to urgently purchase alternative means of destruction. The letters sent by the Public Anti-Corruption Council of the Ministry of Defense to the relevant departments indicate the numbers, calibers and contract numbers that cannot be named publicly," - the Public Anti-Corruption Council of the Ministry of Defense states.