The State Audit Service of Ukraine finds several violations in the procurement of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
The auditors reviewed more than a thousand contracts of the Ministry and 110 military units.
Alla Basalaieva, Head of the State Audit Service, stated this in an interview with the Hlavkom media outlet.
The corruption scandal began in January 2023 over the price of food purchased by the Ministry of Defence. According to the contract published by Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, the Ministry buys eggs for ₴17 per egg, although the market price for them varies between ₴6 and ₴10.
"They bought them at ₴17 per egg. Ten eggs cost ₴170. Placing orders from the catalogue somewhat simplifies the process of purchasing food for the military, but it allows for price manipulation, adding logistics, loading, unloading," Basalaieva said.
Earlier, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov denied this. He said the price was due to a technical error in the contract, which has been corrected. The price was not for one egg but for 100 grams. If 100 grams of eggs cost ₴17, then the price of one gram is ₴0.17. An egg weighs 42-60 grams. So the price per egg ranged from ₴7 to ₴10.
Following the publication of Basalaieva's interview, the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Action Centre NGO criticised Minister Reznikov. "We will continue to expose incompetence/corruption in other areas of Reznikov's responsibility," the AntAC said. Following the scandal, Transparency International Ukraine called on the authorities to declassify part of the procurement to prevent corruption. In February-March, the parliament and the president supported a draft law that would allow this.
After this scandal, state auditors conducted their own investigation. The audit concerned not only food but also weapons.
Many of the ministry's arms procurement contracts were paid in full in advance. When the supplier failed to fulfil its obligations on time, the money was returned. However, due to the difference in dollar exchange rates, Ukraine lost ₴250 million.
At the same time, Basalaieva cannot disclose all the details of the audit, as the full content of the audit is secret. However, it is used by law enforcement in criminal proceedings.
