The SBI reported the suspicion of members of a criminal organization led by Lviv businessman Ihor Hrynkevich, who caused losses to the state of almost a billion hryvnias
The employees of the SBI informed about the suspicion of a Lviv businessman, one of the largest suppliers of the Ministry of Defense and members of a criminal organization that caused the state budget of Ukraine losses of almost a billion hryvnias.
As the SBI said, five more members of the “criminal organization” allegedly created by him were also suspected
The Bureau exposed them in the procurement of clothes and underwear for the Armed Forces.
It was established that the entrepreneur created a criminal organization for the illegal appropriation of budget funds. He concluded contracts with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for the supply of low-quality military clothing. In particular, the Lviv businessman’s companies concluded 23 contracts for the supply of clothing to the Ministry of Defense for over UAH 1.5 billion.
During the investigation, it was established that enterprises under the control of the businessman were involved in the execution of defense orders, which were previously engaged in construction and did not have adequate production, warehouse and other capacities for the production and storage of tangible property for the needs of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. According to the conducted examinations, damage to the state amounted to more than 934 million hryvnias.
Five members of a criminal organization were notified of the suspicion of creating and participating in a criminal organization and of taking possession of other people’s property by breach of trust (fraud), committed in conditions of martial law, in particularly large amounts, by a criminal organization (Part 5 of Article 190, Part 1.2 of Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The members of the criminal organization have been detained and currently the issue of choosing a preventive measure in the form of detention is being resolved.
Sanctions of the articles provide for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of up to 12 years with confiscation of property.
The SBI investigators are establishing a full range of persons involved in the criminal offense, including the verification of information regarding officials of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
It will be recalled that on December 29, 2023, SBI employees detained a Lviv businessman during an attempt to bribe one of the heads of the Main Investigative Department of the SBI.
500,000 US dollars were offered for assistance in the return of property seized from companies controlled by him during the investigation of criminal proceedings. He is currently in custody.
Procedural management is carried out by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the field of defense of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
The reaction of the Hrynkevichs
The son of a businessman, Roman Hrynkevich, said in an Instagram post that managed to get the attention of several media outlets that he was “sure” that his family’s activities “took place in accordance with the current legislation.”
It is known that the son formally owns one firm that had contracts with the Ministry of Defense. And his father left the formal ownership of companies earlier.
“We (Ed.) will definitely not make excuses, spread dirt, look for compromising material or create it,” Hrynkevich Jr. wrote.
Late in the evening on January 9, the Grynkevich charitable foundation announced its position, with which the authorities began to terminate contracts for a number of projects in the Lviv region.
“Due to increased attention to the fund and information spreading on the Internet, we are forced to make a premature comment,” the fund said.
The fund expressed readiness for inspections to show “absolute transparency of work.”
“We have more than 500 acts of acceptance and handover, dozens of acknowledgments and thousands of photos of reports,” the foundation said and described in detail what was handed over and to whom.
The fund urged to remember that no body or person in Ukraine can replace the investigation and the court.
On January 11, the SBI announced that it had seized real estate, premium cars, as well as property and accounts of companies controlled by Hrynkevich.
Hrynkevich’s companies cooperated with Lviv OVA. Now the Lviv regional administration is terminating contracts.
In the photo – Ihor Hrynkevich (left) with Maksym Kozytskyi, the head of Lviv OVA (right)
In the photo – Ihor Hrynkevich (left) with Maksym Kozytskyi, the head of Lviv OVA (right)
The Ministry of Defense and the Lviv Regional Administration are terminating contracts with the family’s companies, and the businessman’s wife even resigned from the university.