Optics for the military with a several-million overpayment: Four accused will stand trial in Poltava region

 In Poltava, four individuals involved in the case of misappropriation of budget funds during the purchase of optical equipment for the needs of the Defense Forces of Ukraine will stand trial. According to the investigation, due to the artificial inflation of the cost of monoculars, sights, and night vision devices, the local budget suffered losses of over 3.4 million UAH.

Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Poltava region completed the pretrial investigation and referred the indictment to court.

The investigation established that in 2023, one of the departments of the city council purchased 165 units of optical equipment for the military worth over 18 million UAH. Officials of the local self-government body, together with the former head of the supplier enterprise, artificially inflated the cost of the equipment. It was previously established that as a result of this, the budget of the community suffered losses of over 3.4 million UAH.

In addition, one of the officials signed documents about the alleged full receipt of the goods, although at that time 78 units of monoculars, sights, and night vision devices had not yet been purchased even by the supplier. It was these documents that became the basis for transferring the entire amount under the contract to the company.

Also, the equipment for the military was actually delivered only six months after the purchase was made.

According to the investigation, the funds obtained as a result of the inflated cost of goods were laundered by the former director of the supplier enterprise by transferring them to the accounts of another controlled firm for cashing out.

An indictment has been referred to court against three officials of the local self-government body and the former head of the company. Their actions are qualified under part 2 of article 28, part 2 of article 364, part 2 of article 28, and part 1 of article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of official position to obtain any improper benefit for a legal entity, which caused serious consequences, and compilation and issuance of knowingly false documents, committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons). The former head is additionally charged with money laundering under part 1 of article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Operational support is carried out by the Department of Military Counterintelligence of the SSU and the Department of Strategic Investigations in Poltava Oblast of the DSI of the National Police of Ukraine. Procedural oversight is provided by the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in the Defense Sphere of the Central Region.

According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in accordance with the law and established by a court verdict of conviction.