AFU captain sentenced to prison for stealing fuel in Mykolaiv region

In Mykolaiv region, a captain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was sentenced to prison for attempting to misappropriate diesel fuel from a military unit. The court took into account his participation in hostilities and his repentance, but did not release him from liability for malfeasance in office.

This is stated in the verdict of the Central District Court of Mykolaiv.

The court found the captain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, commander of an engineering company of one of the military units in Mykolaiv region, guilty of attempted misappropriation of military property - almost 289 liters of diesel fuel.

According to the investigation, the incident occurred on February 9, 2018, on the territory of the military unit, where the accused, acting for selfish reasons and abusing his official position, organized a scheme for the illegal export of fuel. He told the officer on duty that a truck with construction materials was about to enter the territory - the driver was his friend.

The captain poured diesel fuel from the tanks of military equipment into canisters and planned to take it out by civilian transport. According to him, he wanted to sell some of the fuel to offset his own expenses for purchasing power tools for the unit, and exchange the rest for spare parts for military equipment.

During his attempt to export the fuel, the SBU and the military prosecutor's office detected the fuel, and the captain was detained. During the trial, the accused fully admitted his guilt, sincerely repented and explained the motives for his actions.

However, the investigation established that between September 2017 and February 2018, this and other military personnel of the military unit regularly stole diesel fuel, took it outside the unit and sold it for cash.

Taking into account the circumstances, the court found the captain guilty under Part 2 of Art. 15 and Part 3 of Art. 410 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (attempted misappropriation of property committed by an official) and sentenced him to five years in prison. In addition, the defendant was charged with more than UAH 9 thousand for the examinations.

In May, SBI officers exposed a scheme to misappropriate fuel intended for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the investigation, the officials were embezzling diesel fuel and selling it to local farmers at reduced prices.

Анна Бальчінос