Defense Ministry terminates last contract with corruption suspect

Ukraine's Defense Ministry has terminated the last contract with the companies of businessman Ihor Hrynkevych, who is under investigation for a large-scale corruption scheme, the ministry said in a press release on Jan. 17.

Hrynkevych was arrested on Dec. 30 while allegedly attempting to bribe a top official in the bureau. He is charged with offering $500,000 to a state employee in exchange for the return of his property confiscated during  criminal proceedings.

The court seized more of the businessman's property in January. He was also served his second suspicion notice for fraud connected to the Defense Ministry contracts on Jan. 17.

Hrynkevych used to be one of the leading suppliers for the Defense Ministry, winning 23 tenders with his companies. According to law enforcers, he failed to complete the contracts and caused the ministry financial damage of Hr 1.2 billion ($31.6 million). The goods Hrynkevych's companies supplied were allegedly of low quality and inappropriate for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use. He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted.

Since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion, Ukraine's Defense Ministry has been involved in several corruption scandals. The most notorious were related to the former Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, one regarding inflated prices for food supplies and the other connected to low-quality winter jackets.

Investigative Stories From Ukraine: Another procurement scandal spotlights Defense Ministry contractor

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The Kyiv IndependentAnna Myroniuk