The veterans' organization Sorry to Be Alive accused the Higher Anti-Corruption Commission (HACC) of downplaying the memory of fallen heroes, as the judges did not allow the lawyer in the Ukrgasbank case to go to the funeral of her deceased military nephew. The NGO also reported that the former top manager of Ukreximbank and Ukrgasbank, Oleksandr Ihnatenko, who may be involved in corruption related to foreign contracts for the purchase of weapons for the Armed Forces, was released from liability in the same case.
Fakty reports that this became known from the appeal of the veterans' organization Sorry to Be Alive.
"We were approached by lawyer Olesia Basarhina. On October 15, her nephew, a senior soldier of the 68th Separate Brigade named after Oleksa Dovbush, Vitalii Kozei, was killed while performing a combat mission in Kharkiv oblast. On October 30, the lawyer filed a petition stating that due to the organization of the funeral and family support, she would not be able to attend the hearing. But the HACC judges recognized the funeral of the fallen hero as a disrespectful reason for the lawyer's failure to appear in court and held a hearing without her participation," the NGO said in its appeal.
The veterans are demanding that Vira Mykhailenko, HACC Head, explain whether the death of a military serviceman is a sufficient reason to postpone the court hearing. The members of the organization studied the essence of the case in which Basarhina is involved and emphasize that the banker who supervised the payments for which the Armed Forces of Ukraine have not yet received the full amount of purchased weapons was released from liability.
"The accused Ihnatenko was released from liability. He may be involved in a number of corruption offenses, including cases of embezzlement of public funds for the purchase of weapons for the Armed Forces, which are being investigated by the NABU and considered by the HACC. In particular, the NABU is investigating criminal proceedings against the Polish company Alfa Sp z o. O., which signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense for almost $100 million for the supply of weapons, but overdue deliveries," the veterans said in their appeal.
Ukreximbank, where Ihnatenko served as deputy chairman of the board until August 16, 2023, is an authorized financial institution providing military contracts.
"It was Ihnatenko who was responsible for the corporate sector, i.e. payments by the bank's clients under import contracts for the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Ukreximbank was supposed to check the Polish company according to many criteria and refuse to make questionable payments… Alfa did not publish tax reports and was previously involved in criminal proceedings on the supply of low-quality ammunition... The banker who was responsible for making the payments, some of which were later embezzled, was not even questioned by the NABU and was released from liability in another case in which he was involved," the members of the NGO are outraged.
The activists demand a public response from the HACC, NABU and SAPO: "The release from liability people who allegedly participated in the fraudulent embezzlement of money for weapons procurement, which led to the deaths of thousands of our brothers, is unacceptable and shameful. We demand that the leaders of the HACC, NABU, and SAPO provide public explanations as to why they are disrespecting the memory of the fallen heroes and letting corrupt officials who steal money to purchase weapons for the Armed Forces go free. The relevant official requests from the NGO will be sent to the HACC and the NABU, and the responses will be made public."