Law enforcers should investigate defense industry crimes involving former politicians – Ukroboronprom head
Director General of the Ukroboronprom state concern Aivaras Abromavicius has said that law enforcement agencies should investigate crimes in the defense industry that could involve "previous period politicians."
"The problems, in fact, exist at all [defense] enterprises. The problems are deep-rooted, mainly in the financial and managerial approach, including those appeared "thanks" to the previous management. Some Ukroboronprom companies are constantly falling [in the volume] of the public defense procurement order, in while the private segment is growing," he said at a meeting devoted to problematic issues of the Ukroboronprom concern with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kharkiv on Wednesday.
Abromavicius said that most of the public defense procurement order that private entrepreneurs implemented went to "companies associated with previous period politicians." "We know their names. I think law enforcement agencies should investigate this crime against the country. We need to declassify the public defense procurement accounts," he said.
Asked by Zelensky why "we are afraid of announcing last names," Abromavicius said: "We know that people close to decision-making in the defense industry, including the heads of the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada. There is a company called Ukrainian Armor, possibly Bogdan, the Lenin Forge [now Kuznya on Rybalsky], some others who had massive access to public defense procurement at the expense of, as they say, Ukroboronprom companies that did not receive money for this."