The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR), together with French law enforcement, carried out a series of searches in Nice as part of an investigation into the laundering of funds related to the purchase of substandard bulletproof vests for the Defence Forces of Ukraine in 2022.
Scope of the procurement and ballistic test results
According to the investigation, the scheme’s participants used almost two billion hryvnia of budget funds, transferred as 100% prepayment, to purchase 67,000 bulletproof vests for the Defence Forces of Ukraine. An independent ballistic examination found that these personal protective items did not meet the declared protection class.
Law enforcement agencies are examining how the received funds were subsequently used and are reviewing documents related to the payment and delivery of the vests.
Investigation of fund use and seizure of assets in France
Investigators are determining whether part of the funds was spent on purchasing luxury real estate - residential and commercial premises in France - which were registered in the names of family members of the suspects. During the searches in Nice, documents, mobile phones and other electronic devices were seized and sent for examination.
Properties and bank accounts belonging to the suspects on French territory have been seized. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, while the criminal proceedings concerning the circumstances of the actual procurement of the bulletproof vests are already before the court.
