The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv approved the detention of the last of the five suspects in a corruption case connected to Lviv businessman Ihor Hrynkevych, the Prosecutor General's Office said on Jan. 19. The other four suspects are already in custody.
Although prosecutors did not name the fifth suspect by name, the State Bureau of Investigation indicated on Jan. 18 that the son of Ihor Hrynkevych, Roman, is the only suspect who has not yet been found and is wanted by authorities.
The proceedings are connected to a military clothes procurement scheme, which is suspected of causing the Defense Ministry financial damage of Hr 1.2 billion ($32 million).
The five suspects include Ihor Hrynkevych, his son, and three other people. Ihor Hrynkevych was detained after attempting to bribe the bureau's official in December 2023, and the court ordered the arrest of the three other suspects on Jan. 19 with a possibility of bail of Hr 500 million ($13.3 million).
Ihor Hrynkevych used to be one of the leading suppliers for the Defense Ministry, winning 23 tenders with his companies. The goods Hrynkevych's companies supplied were allegedly of low quality and inappropriate for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use.
In response to the corruption scandals, the ministry terminated all contracts with the businessman.
Since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion, Ukraine's Defense Ministry has been involved in several corruption scandals.
The two most notorious scandals, one regarding inflated prices for food supplies and the other connected to low-quality winter jackets, prompted the dismissal of former Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
