SBU: Defense plant's management embezzled money on procurement of armor for tanks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau have exposed the management of a defense plant for embezzling public funds in the procurement of armor for tanks of the Defense Forces. This was reported by SBU and NABU.
According to law enforcement, a large-scale scheme of misappropriation of defense funds, which operated in two regions of Ukraine, has been eliminated: Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovs'k region. The defendants embezzled UAH 102 million of budget funds from the production of dynamic protection for tanks, the case file says.
The security forces exposed the commercial director of the state-owned enterprise, its former head and the owner of the contractor company. According to the investigation, in April 2022, the state-owned plant signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense for the urgent purchase of dynamic protection systems for domestic tanks.
The armored vehicles were to be immediately "put into service" and sent from the workshops directly to the combat zone in different directions of the front. However, instead of immediately fulfilling the defense order, the main suspect, who was the head of the manufacturer at the time, organized the embezzlement of budget funds.
To implement the scheme, the offender engaged the commercial director of the plant and the founder of a contractor company, with whom he signed a contract to purchase armor components at prices three times higher than the market price. The defendants laundered the "difference" through a network of controlled companies for further distribution.
The NABU and SBU examinations confirmed the facts of causing damage to the state budget in particularly large amounts. Searches were conducted at the suspects' places of residence and work.
All three were notified of suspicion under several articles:
→ embezzlement or misappropriation of property or taking possession of property through abuse of office, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy;
→ legalization (laundering) of this property;
→ forgery in office.
The suspected ex-head of the defense plant is already in custody as part of an earlier investigation into the production defective mortar shells – He was detained in April 2025. The issue of a preventive measure against the other defendants is being resolved.
According to the investigation, in early 2024, the plant's management signed a contract for the production of ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine – they were to supply bulk batches of 120 mortar rounds. However, low-quality materials were used for the shells and the work was defective, resulting in 120,000 unusable mines at the front.
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