Fictitious «combat» payments of 9.3 million UAH: ESBU exposes officials of a defense force unit

 Detectives of the main detective unit of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine exposed a group of officials from a defense force unit who organized a scheme for the illegal calculation and payment of additional monetary rewards to military personnel. The state suffered over 9.3 million UAH in damages.

The investigation established that between February 2023 and September 2024, eight officials of the military unit, including the commander, his deputy, the chief of staff, and other officers, knowingly entered false information into official documents.

Specifically, they registered individuals as combat participants despite the fact that they were not actually involved in combat missions and remained in the rear. Based on these documents, payment lists were generated, and additional monetary rewards were calculated. The amount reached up to 100,000 UAH monthly for each of these «participants.»

As a result of these illegal actions, the state budget suffered damages exceeding 9.3 million UAH.

Based on the results of the pre-trial investigation, the involvement of eight individuals in the commission of offenses was established. Two of them were notified of suspicion for abuse of office leading to grave consequences and official forgery (part 2 of art. 364, part 2 of art. 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Three other suspects were charged with abuse of office (part 2 of art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), while another three were charged with aiding and abetting the commission of this crime (part 5 of art. 27, part 2 of art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The issue of selecting preventive measures in the form of detention with the right to post bail is being decided. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

Procedural guidance is provided by the Donetsk specialized prosecutor's office in the defense sphere of the eastern region, while operational support is provided by the DSR of the National Police of Ukraine and the VKR of the SSU.

Pursuant to art. 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court's verdict of conviction.