Internal audit of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine revealed financial irregularities of more than UAH 5.4 billion in the procurement of weapons and military equipment.
This is reported by the The New York Times, based on data from internal reports.
Overpricing and breaches of contract
According to the NYT, the audit revealed the following dozens of contracts, The company's prices were significantly higher than market prices.
The difference between the lowest bids and the amounts at which the contracts were concluded reached $129 million (over UAH 5.4 billion).
«In some cases, prices for the products exceeded commercial offers by several times. Some of the contracts were awarded to companies with no experience in supplying military goods,» the report cited by the NYT said.
Problems with delivery performance
In addition to the overstated amounts, the auditors found Delays in deliveries weapons and incomplete fulfilment of contracts.
In several cases, suppliers failed to deliver the equipment on time or delivered only part of the ordered products.
According to the publication, the Ukrainian side has already cancelled several problematic agreements and tightened control over the conclusion of new contracts in the defence sector.
Defence Ministry's response
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine emphasised that all suspicious contracts are checked, and some of the cases have already been referred to law enforcement agencies.
The procurement system is also being upgraded, including the introduction of electronic cost monitoring and independent audits.
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