© Yulia Svyridenko/Telegram
A government session took place on Saturday, November 22, during which the Cabinet of Ministers approved decisions reportedly coordinated during a meeting with the President, as stated by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. Notably, she unveiled the commencement of an overhaul of the defense industry.
Consequently, the government resolved to initiate an audit of Ukroboronprom and its affiliated entities. The same principle extends to the Defense Procurement Agency and the State Logistics Operator. Moreover, the government commenced the action of refreshing the supervisory councils of Ukroboronprom, its subsidiary firms, AOZ, and DOT.
“The government has formally requested the Accounting Chamber to scrutinize the operations of ARMA and the State Property Fund covering the preceding duration,” added Svyrydenko.
Furthermore, according to her declaration, a comprehensive restructuring of management in the energy sector is underway. The latter was recently the subject of a controversy concerning a substantial corruption scheme.
NABU and SAPO have revealed an extensive corruption plan involving high-level sway over pivotal state-owned enterprises, notably Energoatom. The masterminds received 10-15% of the value of the company’s contracts as illicit payments, and these “commissions” were remitted by counterparties forced upon them by those implicated in the scheme. Overall, the accused managed to “sanitize” $100 million, channeling them through a separate office located in central Kyiv, held by the family of former MP Andriy Derkach. And it was Timur “Karlson” Mindich who exercised authority over the illicit funds .
Against the backdrop of the corruption controversy within the energy sector, reports in the media suggested that the Ministry of Defense could be the next focus of NABU's attention . Particularly, irregularities in defense procurement fall under the scope of inquiry for NABU and SAPO investigators. And forthcoming inspections are anticipated at the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine as part of the probe into inflated procurement agreements.
