ESBU forwards case to court over UAH 2.6 billion overcharge on military quadcopters

 Detectives of the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in the Poltava region have completed a pre-trial investigation into the embezzlement of budget funds allocated for the purchase of quadcopters for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The indictment has been sent to court.

The investigation established that in 2023, a city council department purchased 90 quadcopters for nearly UAH 14.5 million. Local government officials, acting in concert with the director of the supplying company, artificially inflated the cost of the equipment. As a result, the local budget suffered losses exceeding UAH 2.6 million.

Furthermore, a department employee falsified documents confirming receipt of the equipment, despite it not having been delivered. This led to the full payment being transferred to the contractor.

The director of the enterprise subsequently laundered the obtained funds: he transferred them to the accounts of a controlled firm under the guise of payment for services, after which the money was withdrawn as cash and used at his own discretion.

Within the framework of the criminal proceedings, three local government officials and the company's head have been notified of suspicion. The suspects' actions are classified under Articles 364, 209, and 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, concerning abuse of official position, service forgery, and the legalization (laundering) of property obtained by criminal means.

The investigation is now complete, and the case files have been forwarded to court.

Operational support for the case is provided by the SSU Military Counterintelligence Department and the Strategic Investigations Department in the Poltava region of the National Police of Ukraine. Procedural oversight is conducted by the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in the Defense Sphere of the Central Region.

In accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subject to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court's guilty verdict.