“Golden buckwheat” for the Armed Forces: The Ministry of Defense lost more than a billion on food
1 August 2025 11:32
The Security Service of Ukraine, together with military counterintelligence and with the assistance of the Minister of Defense, exposed a large-scale scheme of embezzlement of budget funds allocated for the provision of food to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is about more than 1 billion hryvnias withdrawn through overpricing when purchasing food in 2022. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the SBU.
According to the case, the former head of one of the departments of the Ministry of Defense is involved in illegal activities.
According to the investigation, while in office in the spring of 2022, he entered into an agreement with a private company to purchase wholesale food and supply it to the Armed Forces.
“At the same time, the cost of the products themselves was artificially inflated by 41%, and the price of organizing their supply increased by 221%,” the SBU said.
The investigation found that the former official failed to properly verify the economic feasibility of the cost of goods and services, and failed to coordinate the contract with the relevant structural units of the Ministry of Defense. This allowed him to carry out a large-scale scheme of embezzlement of the defense budget during the active phase of the military invasion.
“The forensic economic examination initiated by law enforcement officers confirmed the facts of embezzlement of defense funds,” the SBU emphasized.
Currently, investigators have served the suspect a notice of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – embezzlement or misappropriation of property by abuse of office in a particularly large scale.
The prosecutor’s office is preparing a motion to impose a preventive measure. The former official faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
“The investigation is ongoing to bring to justice all persons involved in the crime,” the Security Service of Ukraine added.
This is not the first time that law enforcement officers have uncovered violations in defense procurement.
