According to the investigation, the head of the food service of one of the military units could have acted in conspiracy with the founder and commercial director of the food supply company.
“The essence of the scheme was the so-called non-commodity operations. Officials signed acceptance certificates for the full volume of products, while in fact only part of it was delivered to military units. The rest of the products were written off through controlled persons,” law enforcement officers inform.
In addition to shortfalls, the quality of actually imported products did not meet the established requirements, the SBI notes.
“The military personnel were supplied, in particular, with rotten vegetables and fruits, including for units carrying out missions in active sectors of the front,” the press service reports.
According to investigators, the head of the food service received illegal benefits in cash, and the amount of payments could reach 50% of the cost of supplies. In a week, “kickbacks” could exceed UAH 1 million, the State Bureau of Investigation notes.
The press service also reports that the suspect could have used the funds received for personal expenses, including real estate, premium cars and expensive items registered in the name of relatives.
“During the searches, cars, documents for luxury real estate, a collection of branded clothing, shoes and accessories with an estimated value of more than UAH 8 million, as well as promissory notes for $120 thousand were confiscated from the suspect,” the case file says.
During the investigation, the SBI collected audio recordings of telephone conversations of the defendants and materials from hidden cameras. In one recorded conversation, the food service manager and the warehouse manager discussed who should receive how much food, coordinating distribution with management.
According to law enforcement officers, the conversation also mentioned product residues and their condition, in particular, some of the products that might not meet quality standards. Literally, the warehouse manager noted: “I still have a rotten one there. They’ll eat it in the canteen. They’ll eat it.”
Video: State Bureau of Investigation / YouTube
The head of the food service was informed of suspicion under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: fraud (part 3 of article 190), receipt of unlawful benefits by an official (part 2 of article 368) and evasion of military service under martial law (part 4 of article 409).
His subordinate from the food logistics service was also informed of the suspicion. According to the investigation, she could receive cash from suppliers for writing off low-quality products and transferred part of the funds to the manager.
During the searches, $20 thousand was seized from her. Her actions were qualified under Part 1 of Art. 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – providing unlawful benefits to an official.
