Employees of a Ukrainian weapons firm have been charged for collaborating with bureaucrats in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to embezzle roughly $40 million government dollars, according to a new report from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). The payment package was designated for the purchase of 100,000 mortal shells in its ongoing war against Russia.
Five people have been charged with crimes related to the situation, according to SBU, one of whom was detained while attempting to cross the Ukrainian border. They face up to 12 years in prison should they be found guilty.
According to security officials, the deal to purchase the artillery shells from Lviv Arsenal occurred in August 2022. The employees allegedly hid the funds in a series of bank accounts in Ukraine and across the Balkans instead of transferring them to the business tasked with sending them to the Ukrainian government.
The Ukrainian prosecutor general claims that the funds have been tracked down and will be returned to state’s coffers.
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$40 million embezzled from funds set aside to buy munitions for Ukraine.
Isolated incident or tip of the iceberg?https://t.co/bA0fHc0pFV
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) January 29, 2024
As Valuetainment previously reported, the White House and many NATO leaders are getting cold feet with Ukraine and are pivoting to a policy of defensive negotiation with Russia, a far cry from their “total victory” pact in earlier stages of the conflict.
Trust in President Volodymyr Zelensky has not only declined abroad but has plummeted even among Ukrainian government officials due to the lackluster results of his prolonged counteroffensive against Russia. In December, National Security Adviser John Kirby said Washington was “nearing the end of [its] ability” to provide assistance to Ukraine due to the stonewalling of Congressional Republicans.
The Department of Defense (DoD) announced its final Ukraine aid package of 2023 on December 27th. As of January 23rd, the DoD was bluntly telling Ukrainian leaders that it cannot disburse any more money for their war efforts.
Besides cases of outright fraud like this recent report, it was discovered in September that large portions of US aid money for Ukraine were being spent on things unrelated to the war, like Ukrainian small businesses—including a knitwear shop. At the time, the American government was investigating four criminal cases of aid misuse and dozens of cases were being brought to its attention through a USAID hotline. Some 170 Ukrainian government officials had already been arrested and charged with embezzlement and bribery at that time.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics, economics, and culture for Valuetainment. Follow Shane on X (Twitter).
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