Aug. 25 (UPI) — Two high-ranking Ukrainian officials have been embroiled in a corruption scandal as the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky continues its anti-corruption push.
First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi, and an unnamed former deputy minister of the economy were found to have misused $1.68 million in funds.
Vysotskyi took advantage of the Ukrainian railway company Ukrzalinznytsia for one of the schemes, according to anti-corruption officials.
“From March to August 2022, Ukrzaliznytsia overpaid companies participating in the scheme UAH 22.7 million [$610,000]. The funds were then transferred to a foreign company with signs of fictitiousness for further legalization,” stated the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine in a press release on Friday.
“Draft records outlining the distribution of the ill-gotten gains were discovered during a search at a scheme participant’s place,” added NABU.
NABU also revealed that Vysotskyi “was aware of the actual market value of the products, as he regularly received relevant data from the state statistical service.”
In a separate incident, Ukrainian President Zelensky recently fired all regional military recruitment heads following the discovery of up to $5 million in assets hidden in the name of officer Yevhen Borisov’s mother in Spain. Zelensky announced that wounded military veterans would replace the recruitment officers.
“Corruption in military recruiting will be eliminated. The heads of all regional recruitment centers will be fired and replaced by brave warriors who have lost their health on the frontlines but maintained their dignity,” Zelensky tweeted.
Earlier this year, Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov resigned after it was revealed that he had purchased military food supplies at inflated prices. Defense officials attributed the purchases to a “technical mistake.”
Several other officials have also resigned under scrutiny, prompting President Zelensky to impose travel restrictions on unauthorized trips abroad.
“This applies to law enforcers, people’s deputies, prosecutors, and all those who are supposed to work for the state,” stated the Ukrainian president.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
