Under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General, a complex and well-disguised scheme for the legalization of funds obtained during the execution of defense contracts has been uncovered. The total amount of financial transactions that exhibit signs of money laundering exceeds 578 million hryvnias.  

The investigation has established that in 2023–2024, officials from one of the defense sector enterprises conspired with the organizers of the so-called "conversion center." Through forged financial and economic documents, they created a mechanism for withdrawing and cashing budget funds paid by the state for defense orders.  

During this time, state customers transferred over 2.5 billion hryvnias to the enterprise for contracts related to the repair of military equipment and machinery. Part of these funds was directed to the accounts of controlled fictitious companies, allegedly for the supply of spare parts for the needs of the Armed Forces.  

In reality, the money passed through a network of front persons and enterprises, was cashed, and returned to the organizers of the scheme and representatives of the main enterprise. For the "services" of legalizing the funds, the participants in the scheme received a commission of 4–5 percent.  

During the investigation, it was found that the leaders of the so-called supplier companies actually reside in temporarily occupied territories and could not manage Ukrainian enterprises or sign contracts. There is no information about their presence in the territory controlled by Ukraine after 2014, and they did not issue powers of attorney.  

Moreover, some of the "owners" of these companies, according to foreign registries, do not exist at all, which completely excludes the legality of the concluded contracts.  

According to the analytical conclusion of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, financial transactions amounting to over 576 million hryvnias exhibit signs of legalization of funds obtained through criminal means.  

Currently, two organizers of the conversion center and a shadow accountant have been notified of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The full circle of individuals involved in the scheme is also being established, and the possibility of similar offenses in the field of defense procurement is being investigated.  

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. It is being conducted by investigators from the Main Investigative Department of the National Police of Ukraine with operational support from the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police.

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.