Ukraine sends Ministry of Justice embezzlement case to court over UAH 18.9 million losses

October 2, 2026 at 07:37 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office sent to court an indictment against former Ministry of Justice officials and private company executives over procurement fraud. The scheme caused losses of more than UAH 18.9 million to the ministry. Charges include embezzlement, money laundering, and illegal handling of weapons.

Key Facts

The indictment covers two procurement episodes: upgrading a hardware-and-software complex and purchasing 1,285 multifunctional devices.
The first episode caused losses of more than UAH 10 million to the Ministry of Justice.
The second episode caused losses of more than UAH 8.9 million to the Ministry of Justice.
Defendants include the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, heads and deputy heads of ministry departments, and the beneficial owner and two executives of a private company.
One private company executive is additionally charged under Part 2 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and a ministry department head under Part 1 of Article 263.

Procurement Fraud Scheme

The company's beneficial owner devised a criminal scheme involving Ministry of Justice officials to misappropriate public funds during procurement procedures. In the first episode, ministry officials amended the 2021 estimate while private company executives prepared technical specifications that ensured their company would win the tenders. The cost of services in the company's commercial proposals was significantly inflated, and another private company was involved to create the appearance of lawful tender process. In the second episode, officials arranged amendments to the 2021 estimate and obtained inflated commercial proposals from predetermined companies. The scheme resulted in the ministry purchasing multifunctional devices at an inflated price, with losses exceeding UAH 8.9 million.

Defendants and Charges

The defendants include the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, heads and deputy heads of ministry departments, and the beneficial owner and two executives of a private company. The individuals' actions were classified under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. One private company executive was additionally charged under Part 2 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. A head of a department of the Ministry of Justice was charged under Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.