Military Personnel in Lviv Region Fed Counterfeit Honey Worth 30.5 Million UAH
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigations, with the support of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, uncovered a scheme for supplying low-quality honey to military personnel in the Lviv region. The leadership of one of the military units in the region and the director of a private enterprise have already been notified of suspicion. The total amount of damages is 30.5 million hryvnias.
This is reported by AgroReview
Details of the Contract and Its Violations
According to the investigation, at the beginning of 2023, a contract was signed between the military unit and the private enterprise for the supply of honey for the military worth 30.5 million UAH. The terms of the agreement stipulated mandatory quality checks of the product by a specialized laboratory of the military unit.
However, an inspection by the Ministry of Defense revealed that the enterprise supplied honey that did not meet state quality standards in three indicators. Despite this, the leadership of the military unit accepted the goods based on a forged conclusion from another military unit and made full payment.
The investigation also found that the food safety laboratory responsible for quality control lacked the necessary accreditation and equipment to conduct a comprehensive inspection. This resulted in the actual quality of the honey remaining unverified.
Arrests and Suspicions Announced to Involved Persons
As a result of the pre-trial investigation, five individuals were arrested: the commander of the military unit, his deputy, two officers of that unit, and the director of the private enterprise.
The leadership of the military unit has been notified of suspicion under Part 4 of Article 425 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (negligent attitude to military service resulting in severe consequences in a state of martial law), which provides for up to 8 years of imprisonment. The director of the enterprise is charged under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation of state funds through abuse of office in especially large amounts in a state of martial law), for which up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property is provided.
The court has chosen preventive measures for the suspects in the form of detention with the possibility of bail: for the director of the enterprise – 30.5 million UAH, for the commander of the military unit – 9.4 million UAH, for his deputy – 8.5 million UAH, and for the two officers – 7.8 million UAH and 457 thousand UAH respectively.