Ukrainian officials arrested in ‘large scale’ drone bribery scheme

At least four Ukrainian officials have been arrested in a “large-scale corruption scheme” involving the purchase of drones designed to defend Kyiv against Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Just three days after Zelensky restored the independence of Ukrainian’s top anti-corruption agencies following fierce public backlash, the prez said the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office unveiled a plot by a sitting lawmaker, two local officials and several national guard service members to skim money meant to defend their nation.

“The essence of the scheme was to conclude state contracts with supplier companies at deliberately inflated prices,” the agencies added Saturday in a statement, noting the kickbacks to the officials were up to 30% of the contracts’ inflated costs.

The plot involved heads of district and city military civil administrations who allegedly helped cook the books on the purchases of drones and electronic jamming equipment — vital tools used to intercept the ever-escalating bombardments from Ukraine’s Russian invaders.

Drones have proven to be key to Ukraine’s attacks on Moscow, too, with the majority of Ukrainian attacks on Russian military assets involving UAVs, including a recent overnight strike on an oil depot.

“Unfortunately, these corruption schemes involved the procurement of electronic warfare systems and FPV drones. … There must be full and fair accountability for this,” Zelensky said on social media.

“There can only be zero tolerance for corruption. Clear teamwork to expose corruption and, as a result, a just sentence,” he said.

While Ukrainian officials did not name the suspects in the case, the president said four people have been arrested so far.

Ukraine’s Interior Ministry added that the National Guard personnel implicated in the scheme were removed from their positions as the prosecutor’s office moves forward with the case.

The arrests come after the independence of NABU and SAPO were secured Thursday following nationwide protests over Zelensky ratifying a bill that would have put a political appointee in charge of the agencies.

While Zelensky initially defended the move as a means to weed out Russian influence in the agencies, he later agreed to let the agencies operate as they were.

NABU and SAPO were born following Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity in 2014, which called for a major clean up of Kyiv after ousting pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, whose administration was marred in corruption.

The agencies have previously targeted some of Zelensky’s close allies, including former Deputy Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov, with the cases often causing major shakeups in Kyiv while its leadership tries to focus on the war.

Critics have warned Zelensky that ongoing corruption undermines Ukraine’s ability to fight back against Russia, as well as threatens the country’s hopes of joining the European Union.

With Post wires