Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau opens another criminal investigation into embezzlement in defense industry
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) initiated a new criminal investigation into the misappropriation and theft of the state’s property in the Ukrainian defense industry.
According to the NABU press service, the information was added to the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code after analysis of the third series of investigations by Lesya Ivanova and Bihus.info regarding corruption in the defense industry.
In particular, this concerns the misappropriation of state budget funds on a large scale through the abuse of official position by the leaders of the state-owned Ukrspetsexport company when purchasing aircraft parts and components.
The NABU suggested that the facts and correspondence between the defendants in the three parts of the said journalist investigation could be included in the investigation materials of the military prosecutor's office. However, the department representatives said that the Prosecutor General’s Office did not provide any evidence to the NABU detectives.
Bihus.Info journalists found out that the member of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC), Oleg Gladkovsky, his 22-year-old son Igor, and the general director of Ukroboronprom (UOP), Pavel Bukin, were involved in the corruption scheme which allowed them to steal 250 million hryvnias ($9.45 million) from the Ukrainian defense sector.
Allegedly, they organized shady deliveries of parts from Russia and from the Ukrainian military units to the defense enterprises for 2-4 times inflated prices.
Igor Gladkovsky, who was included in the media investigation, rejected all the charges and threatened journalists with a court order. In his turn, Gladkovsky Junior recorded his answer to the reporters in the parody style of the "Our Money" program.
Petro Poroshenko announced that he had signed a decree on the Oleg Gladkovsky’s dismissal from the post of the first secretary of the National Security Council.
On March 4, the Bihus.Info editors released a new episode of the investigation. Journalists accused Oleg Gladkovsky of receiving a "cut" from the purchase of Russian aircraft components.
The representatives of the state-owned association Ukroboronprom denied that Gladkovsky received a “cut” and called the price for parts “optimal.”