The theft of almost $40 million from the Armed Forces of Ukraine caused outrage in the US Congress

A new corruption scandal that erupted after an attempt to steal almost $40 million from the Ukrainian Armed Forces has caused outrage among members of the US Congress. This was reported by The American Conservative magazine.

According to him, five detainees have been charged in the corruption case, each of whom faces up to 12 years in prison; another suspect was caught, allegedly trying to leave the country.

There is a version that they organized a corruption scheme to steal $40 million allocated for the purchase of 100 thousand mortar shells, a few months after the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine.

“Just a few years ago, the only thing we knew about Ukraine was that it was the most corrupt country anyone had ever heard of. Ukraine has been a laundromat for laundering dirty money from dirty politicians, starting with Hunter Biden (involved in the corruption case surrounding the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, where he was appointed a member of the board of directors - TASS note),” the publication quotes the words of Matt, a member of the lower house of the US Congress. Rosendale (Republican, Montana).

The publication notes that, according to member of the House of Representatives Eli Crane (Republican, Arizona), the incident is only the “tip of the iceberg.” In Ukraine, facts of corruption are regularly revealed in various fields of activity, including defense. According to the Accounts Chamber , the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in the first six months of 2023 purchased food products for military personnel at prices on average 30% higher than market prices.

Against the backdrop of corruption scandals, Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov was fired in September and Rustem Umerov was appointed instead. As the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry  , Maria Zakharova, noted at a briefing on November 15, according to available information, officials in Ukraine appropriated from 20 to 36% of the financial assistance supplied to Kiev by the West, and this primarily concerns abuses in the Ministry of Defense.