Categories: POLITICS

Corruption in military procurement: NABU and SAP expose embezzlement scheme

Finally, NABU and SAP have issued suspicions in the so-called “Eggs at 17” case. According to the investigation, it has been established that funds were embezzled during food procurement for the military via the catalog in 2022-2023, amounting to over 733 million UAH, with an additional attempted misappropriation of 788 million UAH.

Two years ago, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov cynically told Ukrainians that suppliers measured eggs in kilograms, so there was nothing wrong with the prices, and that journalists and other “traitors” simply did not understand the issue. The former minister shamelessly told our committee the same thing. It was already clear that these explanations were nonsense, so the parliament reacted almost instantly. Together with my colleagues, we initiated a law on publishing unit prices in non-armed defense procurement on Prozorro, which immediately reduced the price of food for the military. Also, together with concerned government officials, we constantly demanded that the Ministry of Defense change the corrupt catalog of food procurement for the Armed Forces. At the time, Defense Ministry officials claimed that canceling the catalog would worsen (!) the nutrition of the military. Now, the NABU and the SAPO have not only confirmed that the catalog was used to inflate prices and embezzle budget funds. The investigation revealed a particular cynicism of the scheme, such as mixing cheap pork, fat and water into canned beef for the military to reduce the actual price of the goods. Moreover, it is clear from the investigation materials that systematic pressure was exerted on military units to ensure the acceptance of low-quality products. This could not have happened without the knowledge and participation of non-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defense. The disgust toward those responsible is beyond words.

At this stage, the suspicion has been handed to the former head of the Ministry of Defense’s procurement department, who already faces multiple charges related to other procurements, including those from other law enforcement agencies.

Can anyone seriously believe that this former procurement official single-handedly embezzled funds from both food supplies and substandard protective equipment while the rest of the Ministry of Defense’s staff remained unaware—failing to notice inflated prices and quality issues—and were simply defending the ministry’s procurement decisions out of pure goodwill? Hardly.

It is evident that this was a systemic scheme involving more actors, and every guilty party must face fair and inevitable punishment. The investigation continues. I look forward to further procedural developments and hope that we won’t have to wait too long for new results.

Top corruption cases in the defense sector – NABU reports on 95 proceedings initiated in 2024 – remain the focus of my attention as the head of the relevant parliamentary committee.

I would also like to extend my regards to the current Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, the now-former head of the State Logistics Operator, Arsen Zhumadilov, the acting head of the SLO, as well as other officials responsible for procurement at the Ministry of Defense.

It is now April 2025, the fourth year of the full-scale war—yet the corrupt procurement catalog has still not been abolished. Moreover, according to media reports, a supplier who recently received a formal suspicion was, until recently, still involved in providing supplies to the Defense Forces.

Anastasia Radina