Prosecutors of the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor's Office have announced new suspicions in the case regarding abuses during the distribution of funds intended for the purchase of drones for the military.

In addition to the head of the public organization, his accomplice is involved in the scheme.

The investigation concerns a corruption scheme in which the head of the public organization demanded 1.4 million hryvnias in unlawful benefits for allegedly "influencing" the distribution of budget funds for the purchase of drones for the military.

As established by the investigation, the local authorities transferred 2.4 million hryvnias to one of the military units in the Boryspil district for the purchase of drones. After that, the head of the NGO approached the unit commander, claiming that it was thanks to his "assistance" that these funds were allocated, and began to demand 1.4 million hryvnias as a "reward."

The suspect not only demanded money but also incited the serviceman to illegally appropriate part of the budget funds, suggesting that the drones be written off as allegedly destroyed during combat operations.

To implement this plan, he involved an accomplice who assisted in the transfer of funds and coordination of actions.

During one of the meetings, the head of the public organization was detained immediately after receiving the second part of the unlawful benefit – 31 thousand US dollars. The money has been seized.

Earlier, the head of the NGO had already been informed of suspicion in extortion and receiving unlawful benefits for influencing the decisions of a public official (Part 3 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine); incitement to misappropriation of budget funds (Part 2 of Article 15, Part 4 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

On November 11, 2015, prosecutors announced new suspicions against the head of the NGO and his accomplice. They are charged with completed attempts to incite the appropriation of someone else's property by abusing their official position in particularly large amounts, committed by a group of individuals during martial law (Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 15, Part 4 of Article 27, Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

In addition, the head of the public organization has been additionally informed of suspicion for illegal possession of weapons and ammunition without permission (Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The procedural guidance is provided by the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The pre-trial investigation is conducted by the Investigative Department of the Kyiv Regional Police with operational support from the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police of Ukraine.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.