Uncovering a Criminal Scheme: Fake Ammunition Buried and 'De-mining' in Kherson Region

Ukrainian law enforcement authorities have recently unveiled a sophisticated scheme that pertains to the embezzlement of budget funds designated for humanitarian de-mining efforts. This investigation has resulted in the suspicion of the director of a private enterprise involved in de-mining operations, as well as the leader of a group of sapper specialists who, according to the investigation, organized this criminal activity.

Information regarding this case was provided by the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office and the Attorney General, Ruslan Kravchenko, through their social media channels. Kravchenko stated, "In Kyiv, a director of a company and the leader of a group of sapper specialists have been reported as suspects for winning tenders to clear lands in the Kherson region through a network of controlled firms. These areas were already safe and were being utilized by farmers."

As part of the pre-trial investigation, it was revealed that a group of individuals created a series of controlled enterprises that systematically participated in tenders for providing de-mining services for agricultural lands. These companies signed contracts with the Humanitarian De-mining Center but, in reality, did not perform any actual work.

In fact, the territories they were supposed to de-mine had already been cleared in 2023-2024 and were being used by farmers for agricultural purposes. To create the appearance of danger, the participants in the scheme dug up the soil and placed objects resembling ammunition, thus presenting them as hazardous items discovered during inspections.

According to the investigation, the operator of the de-mining activities received 6.3 million hryvnias for the fictitiously cleared territories. The funding for these activities was conducted within the framework of a state program to reimburse expenses, as well as a Framework Agreement with the European Union under the Ukraine Facility instrument.

The actions of the suspects, the director of the enterprise and the leader of the sapper group, have been classified as the appropriation of another's property through the abuse of their official position, committed repeatedly by prior conspiracy of a group of individuals under conditions of martial law in particularly large amounts, as well as official forgery (part 5 of Article 191, part 2 of Article 28, part 2 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The prosecutor's office also noted that indictments have already been sent to court regarding the farmers whose lands were fictitiously de-mined. These farmers provided testimonies that corroborate the criminal actions of the suspects.

Furthermore, during the pre-trial investigation, similar cases of embezzlement of budget funds in providing de-mining services for agricultural land plots, with a total area of over 600 hectares, in the Mykolaiv and Chernihiv regions are being examined. For these works, the enterprises received over 53.2 million hryvnias.