SBU detains ex-deputy economy minister on suspicion of high treason

"SBU operatives and investigators have determined that a senior official of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, officials of the state-owned enterprise Ukrainian Center Security and the state joint-stock holding company Artem acted against the interests of Ukraine in favor of a foreign company. They signed a deliberately unprofitable contract with foreigners to manufacture and supply a line for the production of artillery shells for more than $16.5 million," the report reads.

It notes that as a result of an illegal deal, an advance payment of more than $8.2 million was transferred to the accounts of fictitious offshore enterprises and appropriated by the scheme participants. Instead, the foreign company did not supply the equipment to Ukraine. The culprits' actions jeopardized the supply of ammunition to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, countering Russian aggression.

"On October 22, SBU counterintelligence officers, in pursuance of a judgment of an investigative judge, detained a former deputy minister of economic development and trade of Ukraine at Boryspil International Airport. The former official was declared a suspect in committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 111 (high treason) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the report reads.

The SBU did not name the official, however, according to media reports, he is former Deputy Economy Minister Yuriy Brovchenko, who held the post in 2011-2015.

op