Vdovychenko Hennadii Pavlovych

Charges of embezzlement in the procurement of substandard body armour in 2022 (under-supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine worth almost UAH 2 billion)

According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, in 2022 a former Deputy Minister of Defence, the head of the Ministry of Defence's Department of State Procurement and the head of the Directorate for the Development of Clothing Supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine organised the procurement of substandard body armour from non-resident companies at inflated prices with 100% prepayment and accepted the products into warehouses without inspection; as a result, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were not supplied with protective equipment worth almost UAH 2 billion (this is the value of the protective equipment, not an established amount of damage). On 17 October 2024, the indictment (Article 191(5), Article 114-1(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) was sent to the HACC; the investigation was conducted by the SBI. According to a ruling of the investigating judge, the supplier — the Bulgarian MIMALTEMER LTD — was found by the head of the Directorate for the Development of Clothing Supply. Official statements do not give surnames; Hennadii Vdovychenko, who according to his declaration held this position in 2021, is named as a defendant by Slidstvo.Info. He is abroad and, according to the outlet, has been put on the wanted list; he declined to comment. There is no verdict; the course of the trial after January 2025 has not been verified.

Pre-trial investigation body:

State Bureau of Investigation

Proceedings:

62023000000000883

Charges:

ч. 5 ст. 191 КК України, ч. 2 ст. 114-1 КК України

Co-defendants according to investigators: Khmelnytskyi Bohdan Volodymyrovych