The scandal with the purchase of products for the Armed Forces of Ukraine continues in Ukraine. The supplier explained why his prices are several times higher than store prices.
The text of the press release, which was handed over to Ukrinform, notes that “the information that Aktiv Kompany LLC is supposedly a “layout” is located at the mass registration address, has an authorized capital of only UAH 1,000, and sells products behind inflated prices is not true, and this is a discrediting of Active Company LLC and the Ministry of Defense.
We are not a “laying company”
187 employees are officially employed in the staff of Active Company LLC, it has more than 2 thousand square meters. m of storage space, including cold stores for storing perishable products, more than 70 specialized trucks, and at least 120 tons of products are shipped from warehouses daily.
The company reported that the actual location of Active Company LLC does not correspond to the legal one, in order to save the life and health of the company’s employees, as well as its production facilities.
The company also stressed that “the disclosure of the company’s current contracts jeopardizes the continued safe operation of our production facilities and the life and health of our employees. And this is more than 180 people.” Therefore, the LLC appealed to the Ministry of Defense, as well as people’s deputies, with a call to investigate the leakage of information with limited access and to take measures to ensure the operation of the enterprise.
Why so expensive
Active Company LLC reported that during the relevant purchase, more than 14 companies submitted price proposals for consideration by the Ministry of Defense and offered prices from 151 to 162 UAH per unit of service (for the cost of eggs).
The unit price of a service under each of the eight MO contracts, including with Active Company LLC in 2023, is now UAH 145.8. The service itself includes the cost of one set of products according to the Catalog with a list of products of more than 400 items (which provides full nutrition for one soldier per day) and delivery throughout Ukraine, in particular, to the war zone.
According to the procedure for applying the Food Catalog, the Ministry of Defense orders sets of products according to the Product Catalog – this is the entire list of food products that is included in the Product Catalog and is purchased as a whole, the company’s response says.
In addition, as the supplier adds, the cost of the service also includes the renewal of delivered products that are past the expiration date, they are replaced with fresh products.
The company notes that it is precisely for the reasons stated that comparing the prices for a single unit of goods in any supermarket with the cost in the contract is “incorrect and manipulative”.
The press service added that the price of food supply services is fixed for the whole year and cannot be increased in the event of a seasonal rise in price. Asset Company also said that they had not yet sold a single egg at a price of 17 UAH. The conclusion of an agreement with the Ministry of Defense was preceded by a forensic merchandise research at the NSC “ISE named after V.I. honored prof. M.S. Bocarius”, according to which the market price of one egg is 9 UAH per piece.
What happened
ZN journalists learned about a contract between the Ministry of Defense for catering services in 2023 of military units deployed in Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv and Cherkasy regions far from the line of collision, and any company “Active Company” worth 13.16 billion hryvnia.
Prices in the contract: eggs – UAH 17 each, potatoes – UAH 22 per kilogram, chicken thigh – UAH 120 per kilogram.
An adviser to the head of the President’s Office said that the corruption scandal in the Ministry of Defense is already being discussed at various levels.
The Ministry of Defense called the information about the purchase of products a manipulation.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.