Bribery case in the Defense Ministry enters final phase: NABU and SAPO open materials
26 December 19:58
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office have announced the opening of criminal proceedings against the former head of one of the Central Territorial Departments of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The former official is suspected of receiving an undue benefit from a Kyiv developer in exchange for assistance in winning a tender for the construction of housing for military personnel in the Sviatoshynskyi district of Kyiv.
The disclosure of the materials means that the investigation is virtually complete and the case is close to being submitted to court.
What is the essence of the suspicions?
According to the investigation, the official offered the developer to guarantee winning the tender by using official influence.
To avoid direct contact with the business, he engaged two accomplices – officials of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The total amount of the “services” was estimated at $1.3 million, which were to be transferred in three stages:
- $100 thousand – before the start of the tender,
- $400 thousand – for signing the construction contract,
- $800 thousand – upon completion of the first stage of work.
After the start of the tender, the developer asked to reduce the amount to $1 million, and, according to the investigation, the official agreed to this.
How the scheme was exposed
In June, after the first tranche of $100 thousand was transferred, law enforcement officers caught the accomplices red-handed.
Despite the fact that the former head of the department acted indirectly and did not directly contact the developer, NABU detectives were able to collect evidence of his participation in organizing the scheme. This became the basis for serving him a notice of suspicion in August.
The investigation was conducted based on materials collected by the National Police of Ukraine.
Procedural status of the defendants
Currently, the situation in the case is as follows:
- one of the accomplices has already been brought to trial,
- another accomplice and a former official of the Ministry of Defense are in custody.
The disclosure of the materials means that the defense has gained access to the evidence base, after which the case can be sent to court on the merits.
At the same time, only the court can give a final legal assessment of the actions of the defendants.
