The Czech National Centre for Combating Organised Crime (NCOZ) is investigating a case in Prague concerning the embezzlement of funds allocated for the purchase of ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU); a significant portion of the money disappeared in Prague.
The NCOZ investigation has been under way for two years
NCOZ has been investigating possible irregularities in the supply of ammunition to Ukraine for two years. According to investigators, the case mainly involves foreign companies, but the financial transactions were concentrated in Prague.
The case involves Ukrainian Oleksii Khoroshaiev, who is currently in custody in the Czech Republic and is contesting extradition. Before the Russian Federation’s (RF) full-scale invasion, Khoroshaiev held a senior position at a Ukrainian state company engaged in international arms trading, and after the war began he organised purchases from the Czech Republic.
Contract worth 35 million euros ended with no deliveries
One of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine’s orders - 100,000 mortar rounds, awarded to the Slovak company Sevotech in autumn 2022 - was not fulfilled. The contract was valued at 855 million crowns (35 million euros), and at the end of 2022 the Ministry transferred an advance to the young Ukrainian company «Lvivskyi Arsenal».
The order proved too large for Sevotech, which held a licence to trade in military equipment. Khoroshaiev allegedly planned to acquire almost half of its shares, and the company’s owner, Jan Godermarsky, says Khoroshaiev controlled the contracting process.
Funds routed through a network of intermediaries, trial continues in Ukraine
Subsequently a large portion of the funds passed through Sevotech and was transferred to the Czech Republic, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Bulgaria, after which Ukraine received only 3,000 of the 100,000 ordered rounds.
A trial is already under way in Ukraine against five defendants, including two officials from the Ministry of Defence and representatives of the company «Lvivskyi Arsenal». The court proceedings began a year ago; the accused face between 7 and 12 years’ imprisonment if convicted of organising a criminal group. Khoroshaiev does not yet appear among the defendants in that trial; he was detained in the Czech Republic in September 2024, and Ukraine accuses him of embezzling funds and organising the foreign side of the scheme, while he is contesting extradition and has applied for asylum.
