Former Defense Ministry official Vdovychenko colluded with Russian businessman to supply Ukrainian Armed Forces with low-quality uniforms and bulletproof vests - media. VIDEO+PHOTOS
One of the former officials of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, Hennadii Vdovychenko, may have agreed with a businessman from Russia to supply the Ukrainian army with tens of thousands of bulletproof vests and army uniforms of dubious quality. He is hiding from the investigation.
This is stated in an investigation by Slidstvo.info, Censor.NET reports.
Low-quality jackets for the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The journalists checked the quality of a new winter jacket received from a soldier who was given it by the AFU. It turned out that it was made of low-quality materials and rustled a lot, which is dangerous for soldiers sneaking up on enemies.
The tag of the jacket we received reads Mimaltemer LTD. As it turned out, this is a Bulgarian company that supplied the Defense Forces with almost 50,000 jackets and pants in 2022-2023. The state paid 8.5 million euros for this.
Investigators found several documents in the court register regarding bulletproof vests supplied by the same company. In total, about 80,000 units were transferred.
However, later, when the vests were sent to Ukrainian soldiers, examinations conducted by law enforcement officers during the official investigation revealed that they were unsuitable for combat conditions.
Bulgarians with Russian roots
According to the documents reviewed by Slidstvo.info, this company received 86.5 million euros in 2022, 78 of which were for bulletproof vests and 8.5 for army uniforms.
At the time of the first agreements with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence in the spring of 2022, the owner of Mimaltemer LTD was Isa Israilovich Merzhoev. According to Russian databases, he has a valid Russian passport. Later, the company was taken over by his wife.
It was this company with which the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense signed an agreement on September 13, 2022, to supply nearly 50,000 winter clothing sets.
In the winter of 2022-2023, when the second contract for the supply of bulletproof vests was being implemented, a Bulgarian company bought bulletproof vests from Turkey for about $600 per unit: two plates for $160 and a ballistic vest for $273. In return, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence bought these vests for 800 euros.
In one of the court rulings, journalists found a reference to the fact that the examination of bulletproof vests conducted during the official investigation showed that they could not be used in the army. This caused damage to both the budget and Ukraine's defence capability.
Friendship between the Merzhoyev and Vdovychenko families
The investigators spoke to the former head of Mimaltemer LTD, Merzhoev. He said that he had not heard any complaints about the jackets supplied by the company, and that the vests were of high quality, according to him.
From the court register, Slidstvo.info also learned that the Merzhoev family has been on friendly terms for many years with an official of the Ministry of Defence, who played an important role in the supply of bulletproof vests and jackets.
The journalists found out that it was Hennadii Vdovychenko, who in 2021 served as the head of the Department for the Development of Material Support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This Vdovichenko you're talking about, he was involved in escorting cargo (an order from the Ministry of Defense to a Bulgarian company - ed.) When the war broke out, Vdovychenko's wife (no one knew whose wife she was, but we had known Vdovychenko before because our children played tennis)... When this wife of Vdovychenko called, came and said "I'm on the run," we helped her. Now it turned out that Vdovychenko, who was working with us under a contract, was married to her at the time. An absolute coincidence," says Merzhoev.
According to an announcement on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he is now wanted as a fugitive from justice. He is accused of two articles at once - misappropriation or embezzlement of property through abuse of office, and obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces, which led to death or other serious consequences. The most severe punishment under these articles is 15 years in prison.
Vdovychenko answered the questions of Slidstvo.info in writing. He, like Merzhoev, claims that he has no information about the jackets of dubious quality and insists that the bulletproof vests are of appropriate quality.
In his response to Slidstvo.info, Vdovychenko also noted that he left Ukraine legally and attended every court hearing.
Involvement of other MoD officials
However, not only Vdovychenko was mentioned in the court register, but also other officials of the Ministry of Defence: Viacheslav Shapovalov and Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.
Journalists suggest that it is these former MoD officials who have been accused by the Prosecutor General's Office of embezzling almost two billion hryvnias.
According to the documents reviewed by Slidstvo.info, the amount transferred by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine to the Bulgarian company Mimaltemer LTD was 86.5 million euros, which, at the average exchange rate of 2022, when the money was transferred, amounts to almost 3 billion hryvnias.
