BES is accused of blocking the work of a critical enterprise for the frontline
16 July 2024 15:46
The Bureau of Economic Security (BES) has blocked the work of Ukrainian Armour, one of the key manufacturers of bulletproof vests in Ukraine, on suspicion of tax evasion. This comes amid a shortage of bulletproof vests for the Ukrainian military. This is stated in the article by Forbes, according to "Komersant Ukrainian"
It is noted that on 1 July 2024, the commercial director of Ukrainian Armour, Denys Milinevskyi, received a suspicion from the BES regarding possible financial fraud and tax evasion.
“We thought the state would thank us. Instead, we have a “mask show”, unfounded accusations, demands, arrests, and blocking. This is a paid-for product that Ukrainian defenders are waiting for. If we don’t get it back, we will go bankrupt,”
– wrote the director, referring to 5,000 pieces of ammunition worth over UAH 40 million. This is the amount of ammunition seized by BEB employees in May 2023, when the company’s warehouses and production facilities were searched.
According to the BES, in April-June 2022, Ukrainian Armour allegedly used forged documents to obtain privileges for the import of military goods, which it then sold through a network of specialised stores. Investigators allege that the company imported goods worth over UAH 100 million, of which it failed to pay UAH 30 million in taxes.
“It has been established that the company used certificates with false information about the final recipient to receive benefits for the import of military goods into the country. In other words, according to the documents, the ammunition was intended for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but was actually sold through a network of specialised stores located in several regions of Ukraine. In this way, several batches of goods worth more than UAH 100 million were imported,”
– the BES reported.
Thus, since August 2023, the work of Ukrainian Armour has been blocked, and the company cannot participate in public procurement. 90% of the company’s funds are in seized goods, making it impossible to purchase materials for further production. The criminal proceedings also make it difficult to raise loans.
According to the DOT press service, only six Ukrainian manufacturers can produce bulletproof vests in accordance with the technical requirements of the Ministry of Defence. At the same time, there is a shortage on the market. The DOT planned to purchase more than 135,200 bulletproof vests, but a supplier was found for only one lot out of ten – for the production of 15,000 bulletproof vests for UAH 390 million.
Ukrainian Armour CEO Yan Goncharov claims that the company’s capacity could have provided a third of the tender announced by the DOT – 45,000 bulletproof vests, which is about a third of the annual armour requirements of the Ukrainian Defence Forces.
BEB said that it is currently handling four other similar cases involving suppliers to the Defence Forces.
Ukrainian Armour is not the only one with problems with law enforcement. As reported by 
, the office of Ballistics was also searched.
