NABU and SAPO announced the exposure of a scheme of abuse in the purchase of products by Ukrzaliznytsia to meet the needs of the state during martial law for UAH 62.5 million.
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Former and current officials are involved in the implementation of the scheme. This was announced today, August 24, by the press service of NABU.
Suspicion was reported to two persons:
- First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food – Part 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code;
- ex-Deputy Minister of Economy – Part 5 of Art. 27 and part 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code.
NABU does not name the suspects. According to media reports, we are talking about First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy Taras Vysotsky and ex-Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksandr Griban, who now holds the position of adviser to the Minister of Economy.
The NABU notes that the situation with the need to purchase food products to meet the urgent needs of the state in the conditions of martial law that arose in March 2022 in connection with the full-scale Russian invasion became a prerequisite for the emergence of this scheme.
Two episodes are known, which in general caused damage to the state in the amount of UAH 62.5 million.
The first episode, in which the First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food took part, included:
- purchase for the needs of OVA at the expense of Ukrzaliznytsia of products at significantly inflated prices from the selected company (LLC 1). The same company purchased products at market prices from a foreign manufacturer (Poland) through a controlled intermediary company related to the head of LLC 1. The cost of a kilogram of goods was artificially increased by approximately 150% (from UAH 30 to UAH 75);
- a top official, abusing his power and official position, ensured the coordination of the relevant invoices for payment and acts of work performed, as well as the transfer of funds to the account of LLC 1. At the same time, he was aware of the real cost of products on the domestic market, since he regularly received data from the public service statistics on actual market prices. He was also aware of the purchase of products from Ukrainian manufacturers, but deliberately ignored this fact;
- thus, due to the actions of the official, from March to August 2022, Ukrzaliznytsia overpaid LLC 1 over UAH 28.8 million (including VAT).
With the participation of the same official, a similar scheme was implemented in another episode:
- food products for the needs of the state were purchased at inflated prices from another controlled company (OOO 2). She, through “her own” intermediary firm, bought products from a foreign manufacturer (Turkey) at market prices;
- as in the first episode, the overpricing occurred precisely at the stage of sales of products by one controlled company to another, and each kilogram rose in price by almost 100% (from UAH 30 to UAH 55);
- to ensure the purchase of products from LLC 2, in addition to the first deputy minister of agrarian policy and food, the current deputy minister of economy was also involved in the scheme. He, in particular, concealed information about the availability of more profitable offers from other market participants, including Ukrainian manufacturers;
- due to the operation of the scheme in the period from March to August 2022, Ukrzaliznytsia overpaid UAH 33.7 million to the company controlled by the participants in the scheme. After receiving payment, the money was withdrawn to a foreign company with signs of fictitiousness for further legalization. Draft entries were also found from one of the participants in the transaction with a scheme for distributing undue benefits.
The issue of choosing a measure of restraint by the suspects is being decided. The investigation is ongoing.
Source: Racurs
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