Ukraine’s First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, as well as the Former Deputy Minister of Economy, have been accused of misappropriating UAH 62.5 million (nearly $1.7 million USD) “…during Ukrzaliznytsia’s (Ukrainian Railways) procurement of food supplies for the population in a state of war,” according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
The two officials are believed to have purposefully overpaid for food and supplies via companies controlled by associates or family members who then turned around, using an intermediary company, and purchased the actual goods at fair-market-value – with the controlled company pocketing the difference. NABU notes that the government officials made no efforts to work with Ukrainian suppliers.
This isn’t the first time high ranking officials in the President Volodymyr Zelensky have used the ongoing conflict with Russia to line their pockets. Several weeks ago, Zelensky was forced to remove all regional heads of military enlistment amid an ongoing investigation into military recruitment corruption, announcing that army veterans will become responsible for drafting new troops.
The National Pulse previously reported that the decision came after accusations of corruption by way of “draft evasion” among military recruiters, who were seen to be enriching themselves at the expense of the Ukrainian armed forces. There are now 112 criminal proceedings and 33 ‘suspicions’ against enlistment office officials for their involvement in the scheme.
Recent polling indicates the Ukrainian people blame the rampant incidents of public corruption on President Zelensky directly. According to the Democratic Initiatives Foundation (DIF) and the Kyiv International Sociological Institute (KIIS), over 75 percent of Ukrainians believe Zelensky himself is to blame for increasing corruption in the government and military.
