ATB refutes info about selling humanitarian aid plundered in Zaporizhia
The disseminated information about the selling of stolen humanitarian aid in Zaporizhia and the region in the ATB chain does not correspond to reality, ATB Corporation has said.
"ATB Corporation did not have and does not have any signed agreements for the supply of food and humanitarian essential goods from third-party suppliers through the stores of the ATB retail chain in the region," the corporation's website says.
The retail chain previously announced the launch of additional import deliveries of foreign food and essential goods, which it purchases independently from Western manufacturing partners.
In addition, the regulatory authorities have repeatedly carried out appropriate checks in the shops of the ATB retail chain due to suspicions of the sale of humanitarian products.
"No fact of the sale of humanitarian products was found," the corporation stressed.
ATB condemns any actions of officials on misappropriation and misuse of humanitarian aid, the statement says. The Corporation also reserves the right to use all legal methods to protect honor, dignity and business reputation.
As reported, the Security Service of Ukraine, together with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, conducted a series of searches in Zaporizhia on the fact of likely misappropriation of humanitarian aid provided to Zaporizhia region since the start of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. The searches were carried out in the city council, the regional military regional administration, warehouses and at the addresses of residence of the persons involved in the crime. Later, Yevhen Shevchenko, known as a NABU agent, published information on Facebook information on the involvement of the retail chains ATB and Silpo in the sale of the appropriated humanitarian aid.