The State Investigation Bureau of Ukraine estimated the damage on Thursday at 250 million hrivna (almost 7 million euros). The suspicion is directed against the former management of the patent authority Ukrpatent, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the head of an aid organization.
According to information in Kyiv, the state money is said to have been transferred to the accounts of a voluntary organization – with the alleged order to buy bulletproof vests for the soldiers. Instead, the money was moved through shell companies and converted into cash. So it came into the hands of the accused. They face up to 12 years in prison if convicted.
Despite improvements in recent years, the Ukrainian state apparatus still has a reputation for being prone to corruption. At the same time, a very engaged civil society is helping the country attacked by Russia to survive. Thousands of volunteers not only help refugees and neighbors who have been bombed out. They also collect cash and in-kind donations from sleeping bags to bulletproof vests to army vehicles.
Source: Nachrichten
