The case has been referred to court: how officials enriched themselves by 64 million hryvnias during the procurement of products for Ukrzaliznytsia

The case has been referred to court: how officials enriched themselves by 64 million hryvnias during the procurement of products for Ukrzaliznytsia

Corruption in food procurement during the war: the case has been sent to court, NABU reports.

The former first deputy minister of agrarian policy and food (currently — deputy minister of economy, ecology and agriculture) and the former deputy minister of economy will be brought to court.

They are accused of abuses amounting to about 64 million UAH during the procurement of food products for JSC «Ukrzaliznytsia» to meet state needs during wartime.

At the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the first deputy minister of agrarian policy introduced two schemes, thanks to which pasta products for the humanitarian needs of the population were procured from selected foreign companies.

Procurements were carried out through a number of intermediary firms, and prices increased by almost 300%. At the same time, the official knew the market value of the products, was aware of the readiness of Ukrainian producers to supply them, but deliberately ignored these circumstances.

In the second scheme, the then deputy minister of economy joined the aforementioned high-ranking official. In particular, he concealed information about more advantageous offers from other market participants, including Ukrainian producers.

Due to two episodes of the criminal scheme, the state suffered losses of 63.9 million UAH.