Anti-graft court refuses to jail ex-official in $40 million military contract fraud probe
The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACCU) did not impose a pre-trial restraint on Oleksandr Liyev, the former Ministry of Defense official who is suspected of embezzling almost 1.5 billion hryvnias ($39.6 million) for ammunition purchases for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to a decision by Judge Yaroslav Shkodin on Jan. 29.
The HACCU rejected the prosecutor's motion and refused to arrest Liyev, citing a jurisdiction violation, as the charges were filed without the involvement of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
Ukraine’s SBU security service reported on Jan. 27 that with the assistance of the Ministry of Defense, it had exposed defense officials and managers of the Lviv Arsenal who had stolen almost 1.5 billion hryvnias ($39.6 million) in purchases of shells.
Charges of embezzlement were levied against Liyev, his successor, the head and commercial director of the Lviv Arsenal company, and their accomplice, a representative of a foreign company. They each face 12 years in prison.
Liyev called the indictment "ludicrous" and the detention "an unfortunate misunderstanding."
Amid a corruption scandal involving the procurement of food for the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense announced on Feb. 3, 2023 that Liyev had resigned of his own free will.
Sources from NV partner news outlet Ukrainska Pravda earlier claimed that Liyev had a Russian passport. He denied this, and the Defense Ministry did not confirm that claim.
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