Top Ukraine defense official held over multi-million fraud

Police have arrested a senior Ukrainian defence ministry official suspected of embezzling 36 million euros for the purchase of much-needed artillery shells in the war against Russia, officials said Friday. (AP/File)

• Prosecutors said the official had developed a system under which he bought artillery shells at inflated prices
• “The director of one of the main defense ministry services has been placed in detention,” said the prosecutors’ statement

KYIV: Police have arrested a senior Ukrainian defense ministry official suspected of embezzling 36 million euros for the purchase of much-needed artillery shells in the war against Russia, officials said Friday.
Prosecutors said the official, whose identity they did not reveal, had developed a system under which he bought artillery shells at inflated prices.
“The director of one of the main defense ministry services has been placed in detention,” said the prosecutors’ statement.
Searches carried out at the suspect’s home had turned up documents confirming the scheme, it added.
Ukraine has had to deal with a series of corruption scandals in recent months, including several others within the defense ministry.
Investigators are already looking at the supply of sub-standard bulletproof vests and the purchase of food supplies and uniforms at inflated prices.
At the beginning of August, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked all the officials in charge of military recruitment across the regions to end a system in which some people were being allowed to escape conscription.
The fight against corruption is one of the conditions that the European Union set as a condition for it to examine Ukraine’s application for membership.
European Union leaders agreed last week to open formal membership negotiations with Ukraine.
The country has received tens of billions of euros in aid from the West since the start of the war.