Prosecutors of the Vinnytsia Specialized Prosecutor's Office in the Defense Sector of the Southern Region have sent an indictment to the court against seven individuals involved in the embezzlement of over 2.7 million UAH from the defense budget during the procurement of army beds. Among the accused are the former head of the Housing and Utility Department of Vinnytsia, three of his subordinates, and three entrepreneurs.

At the end of 2022, one of the entrepreneurs reprofiled his company, which previously manufactured furniture, to supply the army with bunk beds. Taking advantage of the simplified procurement procedure during martial law, he sold the products to the state at nearly twice the market value. Some of the beds turned out to be of poor quality and unsuitable for use.

The businessman involved two acquaintances and the former head of the Housing and Utility Department of Vinnytsia in the scheme. The officials, along with their subordinates, signed a contract for the supply of 1,400 beds worth 7.9 million UAH without conducting a tender. To create the appearance of competition in the procurement, they used companies controlled by the same participants of the scheme.

As a result of these actions, the state lost over 2.7 million hryvnias. “Part of the losses has already been compensated, but the state has not received full compensation. Therefore, the prosecutor's office has filed a lawsuit to recover another 2.3 million UAH in favor of the state,” noted the Deputy Head of the Vinnytsia Specialized Prosecutor's Office in the Defense Sector of the Southern Region, Bohdan Lutsenko.

The actions of the accused have been qualified under parts 2, 3, 5 of Article 27, part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — organization and embezzlement of someone else's property through abuse of office, committed by an organized group.

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by detectives of the Territorial Department of the Bureau of Economic Security in the Vinnytsia region with operational support from the Security Service of Ukraine and the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police in the region.

Note: 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 a lawful manner and established by a guilty verdict of the court.