The Military Counterintelligence of the Security Service, in collaboration with the Bureau of Economic Security, uncovered a large-scale embezzlement scheme in Zakarpattia involving the purchase of individual protective equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Using budget funds, the organizers supplied 350 faulty body armor vests to a military unit in the region. Testing revealed that the purchased equipment did not meet the claimed 4th-class protection specifications and posed risks in combat conditions. As a result, the scheme disrupted the execution of a defense order worth almost UAH 6 million. The entire batch of substandard products was seized and returned to the manufacturing company for rectification.

The investigation points to the involvement of the director of a local commercial entity in planning the scheme.

It was determined that the entrepreneur signed a contract with regional military authorities for supplying a wholesale batch of body armor vests to Ukrainian defenders. The cost was artificially inflated, and the quality did not meet state standards.

Currently, the indictment against the implicated individual has been submitted to the court. The investigation is ongoing to hold all individuals responsible for the exposed scheme accountable. Primarily, the involvement of officials from the military authorities who ordered the military products is being examined.

The perpetrators could face up to 12 years in prison with property confiscation.

Comprehensive actions were carried out under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General.