Theft by drones: HACCU arrests former head of Luhansk Regional State Administration
4 August 22:40
The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has imposed a 60-day arrest as a measure of restraint on the former head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, Serhiy Haidai. He is suspected of involvement in corruption schemes in the purchase of drones and radar equipment. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the broadcast of the court session.
“To impose on the suspect Serhiy Gaidai a preventive measure in the form of detention for a period of 60 days,” the judge said.
He was also granted the right to be released on bail in the amount of UAH 10 million.
During the hearing, Gaidai’s lawyer asked the court to postpone the imposition of the preventive measure due to the absence of an extract from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations. He stated that the former official was allegedly detained “illegally”.
The prosecutor’s office asked the court to remand Haidai in custody with an alternative bail of UAH 30 million. The prosecutor noted that the suspect could influence witnesses in the case and other suspects. He also stated that there was a risk of obstructing the pre-trial investigation in other ways.
The suspect himself stated that he did not interfere with the security forces when they came to serve him with a notice of suspicion and personally gave them the keys to his apartment and office in Mukachevo.
According to Suspilne, during the hearing, a number of State Border Guard Service officers expressed a desire to take Hayday on bail. However, the court refused them.
Corruption scheme with FPV drones
The NABU and the SAPO exposed a scheme to embezzle funds during public procurement of FPV drones and electronic warfare equipment.
According to the investigation, one of the military units signed a contract for almost UAH 10 million with a company that overstated the cost of the delivered products. The overpayment amounted to about 80 thousand dollars. After the contract was fulfilled, the company’s representatives transferred part of the funds to the participants in the scheme as a kickback.
Among the suspects is the former head of the Luhansk regional military administration, Serhiy Haidai. The government approved his dismissal on August 2, immediately after the case was publicized.
The case also involves Oleksiy Kuznetsov, a member of the Servant of the People party from Luhansk region. He was temporarily suspended from the faction for the duration of the investigation. on August 4, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a pre-trial restraint of 60 days in custody with the possibility of bail of UAH 8 million.
