Deputy ministers profited from humanitarian aid for Kherson region

The SAPO and the NABU have completed the investigation into large-scale abuse by high-ranking officials in the procurement of humanitarian aid intended for residents of Kherson, Donetsk, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Dnipro, and Poltava regions, as well as the city of Kyiv.

According to the SAPO press service, the defendants in the case are the First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and the former Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine. They organized a scheme to inflate prices for food purchased with state funds, in particular for Kherson region, which was in particular in need of support due to Russian aggression.

The investigation established that in March 2022, the officials organized the purchase of food through controlled companies at prices 2-3 times higher than market prices. The products were purchased in Poland and Turkey through intermediaries. As a result, the state's losses amounted to more than UAH 63 million, including UAH 28.8 million to Ukrzaliznytsia for the supply of food for the needs of military administrations, including Kherson.

The officials are charged under Part 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of power or position), which provides for liability for actions that led to serious consequences for the state.

As a reminder, the NABU and the SAPO served notices of suspicion to First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy Taras Vysotskyi and former Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksandr Hryban. Vysotsky is suspected of involvement in abuses in two purchases of pasta as humanitarian aid, which caused UAH 62.5 million in losses. Hryban is charged with only one episode, which amounted to UAH 33.7 million in damages.

As you know, the court imposed on Vysotskyi a bail with the following obligations: to arrive at the first request; not to leave Kyiv and Kyiv region without permission; to report changes in his place of residence and place of work; to refrain from communicating with a number of people and to deposit his passports.

Андрій Колісніченко