SBU CI exposed officials of the Zhytomyr Armored Plant state enterprise for millions of abuses during the repair of security systems for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Within the framework of the previously initiated criminal proceedings, SBU operatives established that in spring 2018 the officials of the state enterprise signed a contract with the Lviv Research and Production Association for maintenance and repair of radiation and chemical intelligence devices. The repair security system was estimated up to UAH 2,500,000 (USD 89,286).

At the same time, SBU inspection showed that the armor plant has all the necessary material and technical resources, which allows to carry out maintenance and adjustment of the military hardware without the involvement of third-party companies., However, the Lviv company unreasonably involved three subcontractors, artificially increasing the cost of work by more than 60%.

Additionally, experts found a number of violations of military equipment repair and test technology. This could have led to premature equipment failure, jeopardizing servicemen lives and health under radiation and chemical hazardous conditions.

Law enforcement officers conducted seven authorized searches at the armor plant and the Lviv company, at several military representative offices in Kyiv, as well as at the suspects’ places of residence. Military equipment, contracts and financial records proving illegal cost overrun of repair work were confiscated.

The pre-trial investigation upon the fact of malversation is ongoing. (Part 2 Art. 364 of the Criminal code of Ukraine).