The alleged scheme operated at the nation’s cybersecurity agency months before its chief was sacked in a separate graft scandal
Ukrainian officials allegedly stole more than $5 million by purchasing over 5,000 drones for the military at inflated prices, according to anti-corruption investigators.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), which exposed the alleged scheme last year, announced on Tuesday that they completed their investigation. The Western-backed agencies, which frequently target Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s inner-circle, put the losses at 254 million hryvnia ($5.65 million).
The alleged scheme operated from May to September 2023, after Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection (SSSCIP) received $667 million to purchase drones for the military.…