
Five employees at a Ukrainian arms company have been arrested for colluding with officials to embezzle $40 million in funds designated to purchase war munitions, according to the New York Post.
The SBU, Ukraine’s security service, reportedly exposed the conspiracy. The SBU revealed that the five arms company employees were working with officials in the defense ministry to divert steal money designated for purchasing 100,000 mortar shells.
One of the five suspects was caught while attempting to cross the Ukrainian border. If convicted, each of the accused faces twelve years in prison.
The investigation dates back to August 2022, when a contract for artillery shells worth 1.5 billion hryvnias ($39.6 million) was signed with arms firm Lviv Arsenal.
Employees were supposed to transfer funds paid to the company to a business registered abroad. The foreign business would then deliver the ammunition to Ukraine.
Investigators said the munitions were never delivered. Instead of the money being sent to a single entity, it ended up in various accounts in Ukraine and the Balkans.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wondered on X if the sordid affair was an “isolated incident or the tip of the iceberg.”
$40 million embezzled from funds set aside to buy munitions for Ukraine.
Isolated incident or tip of the iceberg?https://t.co/bA0fHc0pFV
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) January 29, 2024
U.S. Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) answered Lee’s question: “Tip of the iceberg.”
Tip of the iceberg. https://t.co/ms9dIbG4JO
— Rep. Eli Crane (@RepEliCrane) January 29, 2024
While it should be noted this incident did not directly involve the U.S., the news of the alleged crime comes on the heels of a damning report by a Pentagon watchdog.
The report “determined that American diplomats and officials in the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) failed to properly track over $1 billion worth of weapons provided to Ukraine.”
According to the Daily Caller, the inspector general’s investigation discovered that the DOD surveilled almost 40,000 items considered sensitive and vulnerable go to smugglers.
As of June 2, 2023, the U.S. has given a minimum of $1.699 billion worth of equipment to Ukraine, and the equipment qualified for enhanced end-use monitoring.
The investigator general’s investigation found that the Department of Defense failed to produce full inventory reports on 69% of the total value.
Combined with the fact that Congress has sent at least $113 billion to Ukraine since the start of its war with Russia in 2022, the $40 million Ukrainian arms conspiracy looks like the tip of the tip of the iceberg.
And yet the Biden Administration has requested another $61 billion for Ukraine. Icebergs sink ships, especially when the ship’s captain is blind.