Ukraine cracks down on over $800,000 state reserve theft ring PHOTO

Ukrainian security and police forces have uncovered and dismantled a large-scale scheme involving the embezzlement of public funds within the State Reserves Management Agency of Ukraine (SRMAU).

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), working alongside the National Police, arrested the acting former general director of a State Reserve enterprise in Kyiv Oblast, along with five accomplices, Caliber.Az reports, citing SBU.

Investigators say the group misappropriated approximately 36 million hryvnias (around $831,000).

According to authorities, the network exploited state-owned warehouses by leasing them at artificially low rates through companies controlled by the ringleader.

These warehouses were then sublet to commercial businesses at market prices, with the difference allegedly pocketed and laundered via affiliated firms.

The investigation estimates the illegal monthly income ranged between 1 and 4 million hryvnias (around $23,000 – $92,000).

Funds were reportedly spent on luxury real estate and high-end vehicles, while false entries were made in company records to conceal the transactions.

Raids at the suspects’ homes and workplaces yielded smartphones, computers, and documents confirming their illicit activities.

Those involved face up to 12 years in prison, along with confiscation of their assets.

By Aghakazim Guliyev