The National Anti-Corruption Bureau, or NABU, and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office have detained Deputy Minister of Defense Ihor Pavlovskyi and the head of the ministry’s procurement department, Volodymyr Hulyevych, on suspicion of embezzlement.
The two are suspected of embezzling Hr 149 million ($5.5 million) in state funds during the purchase of fuel for the Defense Ministry.
The NABU hasn’t yet confirmed the name of the fuel supplier, but a NABU spokesperson told the Kyiv Post that the company was likely Trade Commodity – a company connected to businessman Andriy Adamovsky. Adamovsky is a business partner of Oleksandr
Adamovsky is a business partner of Oleksandr Hranovsky, a lawmaker from the Bloc of President Petro Poroshenko’s faction in parliament, according to lawmaker Mustafa Nayyem.
The NABU confirmed to the Kyiv Post that the suspects had been served notices of suspicion. They have been detained for 72 hours, during which the courts will decide on their further detention.
Prosecutors are also investigating other possible suspects in the crime.
Hranovsky, in comments made to online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda on Oct. 11, denied having any connection to Trade Commodity.
The case goes back to early 2016. According to investigators, the Ministry of Defense auction committee called an open competition for fuel procurement. As the result, the committee approved the supplier offering the lowest price. The company and the Ministry of Defense signed 14 agreements together worth more than Hr 1 billion ($37 million) for the supply of fuel.
However, the customer and supplier in the summer of 2016 amended the contracts, increasing the price by 16 percent. According to the investigators, the amendment was illegal.
The supplier received an additional payment of Hr 149 million. On account of that, Pavlovskyi and Hulyevych are suspected of misappropriation and embezzlement of state property, charges that carry sentences of from seven to 12 years in prison if they are found guilty.
Nayyem said the NABU’s case was a challenge to President Petro Poroshenko, as the Defense Ministry is directly under control of the head of the state.
“The president has to make a choice between his friends and the country,” Nayyem wrote on Facebook. “The detention of the heads of the Defense Ministry is a personal challenge to Petro Poroshenko.”
