Corruption in Kyiv
Defense Ministry official is said to have embezzled millions
December 23, 2023, 5:11 a.m
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Ukrainian investigators celebrate a success in the fight against corruption. A high-ranking Defense Ministry official is said to have leaked 36 million euros, money that was intended for the purchase of ammunition. The man is now in custody.
In Ukraine, a high-ranking Defense Ministry employee has been arrested on suspicion of corruption. The defense ministry and the domestic secret service SBU said the official was accused of embezzling 36 million euros to buy urgently needed artillery shells in the war against Russia.
The public prosecutor’s office initially did not comment on the man’s identity, but said: “The director of one of the most important departments of the Ministry of Defense has been taken into custody.” The man developed a system with which he bought artillery shells at inflated prices. Documents found in the suspect’s apartment confirmed this.
In recent months, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has been rocked by several corruption scandals. Then-Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov rejected allegations in August that uniforms had been purchased at inflated prices. Reznikov was fired by President Volodymyr Zelensky at the beginning of September amid allegations of corruption.
At the beginning of August, Zelensky had already fired all heads of the regional offices responsible for recruiting. He denounced a system that enabled conscripts to be smuggled out of the country. The Defense Ministry in Kiev had previously come under fire because of a food procurement scandal. However, the corruption allegations never directly concerned Western military and financial support.
The leadership in Kiev is trying to take more consistent action against corruption and bribery in the country – also with a view to joining the EU. The conditions for joining include, among other things, the fight against corruption. Ukraine is currently ranked 116th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.