In catalogues, the varity of popular products was overstated, and that of non-traditional products was underestimated. In this way the average price was adjusted.
The Ministry of Defense has discovered a scheme for the theft of state assets during the hour of purchasing food products for the army during the hour of a full-scale war. The suspicions were brought to the attention of a large department manager, a member of the related postal company, two senior staff of the postal company and an individual, who were identified in the National Anticorrosive Bureau.
They explained that the machinations were in progress during the purchase of so-called sets of products from the first two years of a full-scale war. In 2022-2023, products were purchased for the army from confirmed catalogs with 409 items.
“The largest products, such as vegetables, cereals, meat, water, accounted for less than 10% of the assortment. Rashta, for a mixture of spices, gelatin and berries, were purchased occasionally or not at all,” the Bureau explained.
The price for the set was determined according to the above mentioned catalog and became the average price. What allowed the postal workers to manipulate the market: to sell expensive and cheap products – those that are of little use or those that cannot be washed away due to seasonality.
“At first glance, there was no damage, and the price of the set did not change. However, potatoes, which were milled in thousands of tons, were sold at exorbitant prices, and seasonal berries and fruits, which were not sold at all, were worth pennies,” added to the Bureau.
Zokrema, cabbage were delivered for 37 UAH at the market price of 11 UAH.
During September 2022, two postal companies, controlled by the same company, illegally withheld excess profits amounting to over UAH 733 million. Some of these funds were withdrawn under the guise of dividend payments and the provision of financial assistance to related companies.
“The official of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine committed the mischief, at the time of signing the agreements, “without noting” the price anomalies in the catalog,” says the source.
After the start of the pre-trial investigation in 2023 and the increase in the media's availability of information, until eggs are purchased at 17 UAH per piece, equipment suppliers changed prices to 11 most requested products. This resulted in the theft of budget funds amounting to UAH 788 million.
In addition, after the introduction of the NABU and SAP proposal to clarify the reasons for the production equipment, the Ministry of Defense made the following conclusions: the procurement procedure has changed, it is ordered around the fabric projects.
The crime was committed for the confusion of the State Audit Service of Ukraine.
Zagalom vikrito robbed over 733 million UAH and aimed at wasting 788 million UAH. Qualification: Part 5, Art. 191 (expenditure), part 2 of Art. 15 hours 5 tbsp. 191 (swing on expenses), part 3 of Art. 209 (legalization) CC of Ukraine.
Eggs for 17 hryvnia
- The scandal over prices for food for the army burst into flames with the 2023 levy. Journalists have repeatedly reported on the supply of hedgehogs at discounted prices. Zokrema, Tetyana Nikolaenko. Tetyana Glinyana was involved in her investigations, whose companies were one of the largest contributors to the Ministry of Defense.
- The Glinyanaya company itself delivered a sum of “17 eggs.” And Nikolaenko explained that two companies from Tetyana Glinyanaya’s group – “Aktiv Kompaniya” and “Grand Consult” – were implementing the scheme in one of the military parts. According to this data, companies from the Glinyanaya group earned approximately 1.3 million hryvnia per month from this scheme for the sale of the Ministry of Defense mine. According to the data of “Our Pennies”, Tetyana Glinyana was especially the leader of the companies from the so-called “Bilotserkovskaya group”, which at various times were large suppliers of grub for the military.
- After the scandal ended, the Ministry of Defense decided to purchase products from catalogs and switched to purchasing from the border.