Odesa detains suspects in embezzlement of money for food for cadets of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The State Bureau of Investigation has announced the disclosure of a criminal organization that allegedly organized by an Odesa resident that seized budget funds allocated for the purchase of food for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to the SBI, according to the investigation, the Odesa resident organized the criminal group in January 2024.

He set up two companies that were registered to managers under his control. The latter officially hired employees for these companies and rented the necessary warehouses, refrigerators and vehicles. The Odesa resident, in turn, ensured that the companies formally met the requirements to participate in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine's tenders with the most favorable price offers.

As a result of winning the tenders, the companies were granted the right to supply food to the Armed Forces. The organizer then established contacts with military officials who submitted overpriced or unnecessary requests for food to the authorized bodies of the Ministry of Defense. The companies issued invoices with inflated quantities of products, and destroyed the real invoices confirming the actual quantity of supplies. Based on the forged documents, the companies received payments from the state budget.

In many cases, military units were supplied with goods of inadequate quality, including counterfeit and expired products. The members of the organization used part of the funds for further criminal activity, and distributed the rest among themselves.

The losses established as a result of such activities of the entrepreneurs amounted to almost UAH 6 million. SBI officers reported that they had documented all stages of the illegal activity and detained all members of the criminal organization.

Currently, the organizer and eight other participants of the scheme have been served a notice of suspicion:

• under Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (creation and management of a criminal organization, as well as participation in it);
• under Article 191(5) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation or embezzlement of property on a large scale or by an organized group).

The sanction of the articles provides for up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.

Кирило Бойко