A few days ago, the domestic media space was shaken by the news about, apparently, multimillion-dollar embezzlement of funds of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Yes, in particular for messages National Police of Ukraine On August 30, 2022, police officers exposed a criminal group that allegedly took possession of the funds of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in the amount of 580,000 euros, which should have been used to purchase body armor for the Ukrainian army.
At first glance, it seems that everything is clear and standard – someone decided to “make extra money” in the war and predictably got burned on it. Accordingly, honor and praise to the police officers who discovered the alleged criminals. But, there is a but…
Yes, on the same day, that is, on August 30, 2022, a comment on the above-mentioned incident appears on the official FB page of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov. And it should be noted that the comment is not as unambiguous as the message from the National Police.
Attempts by criminals to profit from Ukraine’s defense needs will be severely punished
For more than 6 months, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has been working 24/7 to provide our defenders with the necessary supplies. During this time, thousands of contracts were concluded, operations worth hundreds of billions of hryvnias were carried out to deliver weapons, ammunition, helmets and body armor, to pay cash support and much more.
We all remember the situation in March-April, when volunteers, businesses, and ordinary people provided enormous support. Someone made their contribution with money, someone with useful knowledge or connections. Unfortunately, later it sometimes turned out that some people were not thinking about Ukraine and the army, but about their pockets.
Today, the National Police of Ukraine published information about the arrest of criminals who tried to embezzle money intended for the purchase of body armor.
This story has been going on since the beginning of April. In the spring, the specified persons were indeed authorized to hold preparatory talks in Turkey in the interests of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. At that time, this was a common practice, because it was necessary to act very quickly. As a result, a contract for the supply of body armor was concluded with one Turkish company for the amount of more than 16.6 million euros, which guaranteed the delivery of body armor in a short period of time.
In that period, the Ministry of Defense concluded a wide range of similar contracts with manufacturers and suppliers in different countries for the purpose of diversification. Thanks to this, a systematic rhythmic supply was organized, which the enemy could not interrupt with their missile attacks. It was possible not only to cover the need for body armor and helmets for the army, the number of which has increased several times, but also to form reserves.
At the same time, back in April, the mentioned company, which, by the way, concluded similar contracts for the provision of the National Guard of Ukraine, violated the terms and did not fulfill its obligations. Unfortunately, the reality is that not all contractors and suppliers are honest.
The Ministry of Defense immediately took the measures required by law and contracts to return the funds.
According to the procedure of the contract, we applied to the Arbitration of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and received a decision in favor of the defense department.
We appealed to the court in Turkey. The bank accounts and assets of the defaulting company were seized.
We immediately contacted our partners in the Ministry of Defense of Turkey, the Embassy of Ukraine in Ankara and the Embassy of Turkey in Kyiv are also involved in the process.
Representatives of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine twice traveled to the Republic of Turkey to take appropriate legal measures to protect interests. This work is ongoing.
As a lawyer, I am convinced of the inviolability of the rule of presumption of innocence. Therefore, I will use the word not “when”, but “if”. So, if the perpetrators are found guilty, they will receive long prison terms.
And so it will be with anyone who tries to take advantage of Ukraine’s vulnerability and profit from it.
I won’t hide it. Cases when suppliers do not fulfill something, violate deadlines, try to sell low-quality goods are not unique. In particular, specialists of the Ministry of Defense, who carry out quality control, regularly return batches of products or issue complaints, force suppliers to replace products with quality ones. After all, everything purchased with taxpayers’ money is under strict control. Despite the huge volumes. This is part of our daily work.
Since we are talking about the purchase of large batches of weapons, sometimes the receivables (when some delivery is delayed) can be counted in billions of hryvnias. This is a very complex and tough market, where it is not always possible to buy directly from the manufacturer, ensuring transparency and control at all stages. Especially if you represent a country where there is a war. They are trying to play on this, testing our strength.
In addition, we are desperately opposed by Russia at all possible levels and by all means – starting from the markets of raw materials and ending with the political blocking of finished products under paid agreements.
That is why the Ministry of Defense is building system mechanisms that will reduce the number of problematic contracts to a minimum. This applies to both imports and the fight against monopolists within Ukraine.
There will still be a certain number of problematic contracts, there is no need to have any illusions. Because people are different, circumstances are different. Not everything can be predicted, force majeure happens.
But we do everything we can, and even more, so that our counterparties know that intentionally violating our obligations to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is a mistake that will be very expensive, no matter how long it takes.
Glory to Ukraine! ” – Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov.
So, even with a superficial analysis of the Minister’s statements, it becomes obvious the fact that between the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine and a certain Turkish company was concluded a contract for the supply of military ammunition and means of protection in the amount of 16 million Euros. In turn, the Turkish supplier company received money from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, but did not deliver the goods specified in the contract and did not return the money. Which, accordingly, prompted the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and its representatives to apply to the courts, seize the accounts of the Turkish company and continue the complex of actions to return the funds of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to Ukraine. Point.
Now the questions arise, what did the police officers pathetically report about? What is the role of the aforementioned representatives of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in this whole process? Why did the Turkish supplier company, after receiving funds from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, banally “abandon” the national defense department? And the main thing – on what basis does the NP of Ukraine protect the interests of the owner of the Turkish company, which cynically seized the funds of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in the amount of 16 million euros?
In order to get answers to these and other questions, we started our own investigation of this high-profile case.
To be continued. Follow the posts.
