Procurements of components at inflated prices for state-run Ukroboronprom Concern’s enterprises included kickbacks allegedly paid to the incumbent head of the Concern Pavlo Bukin and former first deputy head of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleh Hladkovsky, who was dismissed on March 4, investigative journalists from the Bihus.Info project say.
The third series of their probe published on the evening of March 4 was also based on a leaked archive the journalists received in the autumn of 2018 from an unidentified person and provides materials proving that Hladkovsky and Bukin were allegedly paid at least $30,000 and $10,000, respectively, when purchasing Russian-made altimeters for repairing Kazakhstan’s An-26 planes in Ukraine.
According to the journalists, in 2016-2017, the devices whose actual cost was about $85,000 were, through the mediation of Hladkovsky’s son, Ihor Hladkovsky, and the latter’s business partner Vitaliy Zhukov, were delivered to Ukraine through the UAE under the guise of spare parts for a civilian helicopter and sold to Ukroboronprom’s state-run company Ukrspecexport, which was headed by Bukin at that time, for about $580,000.
The journalists said that Oleh Hladkovsky and Pavlo Bukin had declined to comment on the facts. What is more, Oleh Hladkovsky denied he knew Zhukov.
Investigative journalist Denys Bihus announced that the last part of the investigations will focus on law enforcement agencies.
