KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Employees from a Ukrainian arms firm conspired with defense ministry officials to embezzle almost $40 million earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells for the war with Russia, Ukraine’s security service reported.
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The SBU announced last Saturday that five other people had been charged, adding that one was arrested while trying to cross the border into Ukraine. If convicted, they face up to 12 years in prison.
The investigation comes as Kiev tries to crack down on corruption in a bid to speed up its European Union-NATO club. Officials from both blocs have demanded sweeping anti-corruption reforms before Kiev can sign them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2019, long before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The president and his aides outlined recent firings of top officials, adding that of Ivan Bakanov, former head of State Security, in July 2022 as evidence of his efforts in the fight against corruption.
Security officials say the ongoing investigation dates back to August 2022, when officials signed a contract for artillery shells worth 1. 5 billion hryvnias ($39. 6 million) with arms company Lviv Arsenal.
After receiving the payment, the company’s workers were required to transfer the budget to a company registered abroad, which would then deliver the ammunition to Ukraine.
However, the goods were never delivered and the money was instead sent to various accounts in Ukraine and the Balkans, investigators said.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general says that the funds have since been seized and will be returned to the country’s defense budget.
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Learn more about Russia-Ukraine at https://apnews. com/hub/russia-ukraine
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