Two heads of companies working with Ukraine's Defense Ministry are under investigation for misappropriating nearly UAH 120 million (or $3.23 million) from the department, as Kyiv makes efforts to bolster anti-corruption measures amid a prospective EU membership bid.
"Under the guise of supplying food to military units, the offenders transferred part of the funds to the bank account of a company they controlled. The total amount of stolen funds is over UAH 120 million," Ukraine's National Police said in a statement Friday.
The heads of the two companies entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Defense to provide food for the personnel and the staff animals of military units, as well as food for military educational institutions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, "the criminals transferred part of the proceeds to the bank account of the company previously involved in the criminal activity," Ukraine's National Police said.
The two company officials are charged with committing a crime under Part 5 of Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which includes misappropriation, expropriation or seizure of property through abuse of office, committed in a particularly large scale.
The defendants face imprisonment for a term of 7 to 12 years with confiscation of property, police added.
The criminal activity was exposed by investigators from the Main Department of the National Police working jointly with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor General's Office, according to the statement.
The revelations come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his government is working on “new reforms” that will make the country “more human, transparent and effective." Rooting out widespread corruption is an important part of its EU candidacy.
Zelensky has also fired a number of senior Ukrainian officials linked to corruption investigations related to the procurement of wartime supplies.