Ukrainian officials embezzle $40m meant for weapons amidst Russia conflict
Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, has revealed that corruption has been uncovered in an arms purchase by the military, amounting to approximately $40m (£31m).
According to the SBU, five senior individuals in the defence ministry and at an arms supplier are under investigation for their involvement in the scandal. The corrupt officials allegedly signed a contract for 100,000 mortar shells in August 2022, receiving payment in advance, with some funds transferred abroad. However, the arms were never provided, leading to an embezzlement of nearly 1.5 billion hryvnias.
The investigation by the SBU has identified former and current high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defence and heads of affiliated companies as complicit in the embezzlement. Despite the contract being signed six months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, not a single artillery shell was ever delivered.
One suspect has been detained while attempting to leave Ukraine and is currently in custody. President Volodymyr Zelensky has prioritised the fight against corruption since assuming power in 2019, and the stolen funds have been seized and will be returned to the defence budget.
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Corruption has posed a significant challenge to Ukraine’s aspirations to join the European Union, but the country’s anti-corruption efforts have shown promising progress. Ukraine was ranked 116th out of 180 countries in a 2022 corruption perceptions index by Transparency International, but it has been steadily climbing in the organisation’s ranking, rising 28 places in a decade.
This latest revelation of corruption in the arms purchase comes at a time when efforts to send more aid to Ukraine are facing opposition from Republicans in the United States. President Zelensky has previously taken steps to address corruption by dismissing officials in charge of military recruitment to combat favoritism in conscription.
Corruption scandals like this reinforce the need for transparent and accountable governance, particularly in sensitive areas such as military procurement.
