Ukraine says it uncovers major drone procurement corruption scheme, 4 people arrested
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A Ukrainian service member practising piloting a drone at an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies uncovered a major military procurement graft scheme involving inflated prices for drones and jamming systems.
- A lawmaker, officials, and national guard personnel were caught taking bribes, receiving up to 30% kickbacks on state contracts.
- President Zelensky restored the agencies' independence after public outcry, crucial for Ukraine's EU membership bid, praising their work.
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KYIV – Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies said on Aug 2 they had uncovered a major graft scheme that procured military drones and signal jamming systems at inflated prices – two days after the agencies’ independence was restored following major protests.
The independence of Ukraine’s anti-graft investigators and prosecutors, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (Nabu) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo), was reinstated by Parliament on July 31
In a statement published by both agencies on social media, Nabu and Sapo said they had caught a sitting lawmaker, two local officials and an unspecified number of national guard personnel taking bribes. None of them were identified in the statement.
“The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices,” it said, adding that the offenders had received kickbacks of up to 30 per cent of a contract’s cost. Four people had been arrested.
“There can only be zero tolerance for corruption, clear teamwork to expose corruption and, as a result, a just sentence,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
Mr Zelensky, who has far-reaching wartime presidential powers and still enjoys broad approval among Ukrainians, was forced into a rare political about-face when his attempt to bring Nabu and Sapo under the control of his prosecutor-general sparked the first nationwide protests
He subsequently said that he had heard the people’s anger, and submitted a Bill restoring the agencies’ former independence, which was voted through by Parliament on July 31.
Ukraine’s European allies praised the move, having voiced concerns about the original stripping of the agencies’ status.
Top European officials had told Mr Zelensky that Ukraine was jeopardising its bid for European Union membership by curbing the powers of its anti-graft authorities.
“It is important that anti-corruption institutions operate independently, and the law adopted on Thursday guarantees them every opportunity for a real fight against corruption,” Mr Zelensky wrote on Aug 2 after meeting the heads of the agencies, who briefed him on the latest investigation. REUTERS
