On October 30, an investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court chose to remand another suspect in proceedings regarding possible price gouging during drone procurement.
On October 30, an investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court chose to remand another suspect in proceedings regarding possible price gouging during drone procurement.
According to the VAKS, the suspect was taken into custody in the courtroom. An alternative bail of UAH 12.112 million was set. If it is posted, the suspect will be subject to a number of procedural obligations, and the term of the ruling is set until December 28, 2025. If bail is posted, he must appear at the first request to detectives and prosecutors, not leave Lviv without the permission of the investigator, prosecutor or court, report a change of residence or work, refrain from contact with persons specified in the ruling, and hand over his passports and other documents for traveling abroad to Department No. 2 of the State Migration Service in Lviv.
The court separately recalled the presumption of innocence enshrined in the Constitution: the application of a preventive measure does not mean establishing guilt, but only determines the legal regime for the duration of the pre-trial investigation.
The context of the case concerns the procurement of UAVs for defense needs in 2023. According to the NABU and SAP, several years ago, one of the heads of the State Special Communications Service, together with representatives of several private companies, organized the procurement of UAVs at artificially inflated prices. The scheme was built through fictitious «competition» of related firms in tenders, after which the state purchased large batches of drones at a price 70–90% higher than the market price. This concerns, in particular, 400 DJI Mavic 3 and 1,300 Autel Evo Max 4T; the amount of overpayments, according to the investigation, reached approximately UAH 90 million, part of the funds were transferred to the accounts of controlled structures, including abroad. The names of the defendants are not officially disclosed at this time, all suspects enjoy the presumption of innocence until the court’s decision.
UAV purchases remain under close scrutiny due to the scale of demand and the critical role of drones on the front. Anti-corruption authorities declare priority control of «bottlenecks» — transparency of contracts, cutting out intermediaries and compliance with market prices. The current decision of the Supreme Court of Justice adds a new defendant to the list of persons with preventive measures in this case, and further conclusions will depend on the results of investigative actions and court decisions on the merits.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how there are four main suspects in the case of embezzlement of funds during the creation of the military system «Dzvin». Last week , a preventive measure was applied to the former chief of the signal troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On March 10 and 11, the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on two more defendants.
