After the dismissal of the head of the State Service for Special Communications, Yuriy Shchigol, a scandal arose against the official, as he was informed of suspicion of embezzling UAH 62 million from the state budget.
Operations with cryptocurrencies, money laundering or embezzlement of budget millions: why was the head of the State Special Communications Service Yuri Shchigol fired? The Cabinet of Ministers urgently removed from office not only the highest-ranking official, but also his deputy for digital development, Victor Zhora.
Immediately after this news, NABU reported: Shchigol is suspected of embezzling 62 million state hryvnia.
What scheme is the now former head of the State Special Communications Service Shchigol accused of? And what surprises did NABU during the searches? StopKora journalist Olga Levitskaya looked into the details of the complicated case .
As the investigation established, during 2020-2022, the owner of a group of companies, in collusion with the management of the State Service for Special Communications, developed a scheme to seize budget funds allocated for the purchase of equipment and software.
How did the scheme work?
According to law enforcement officials, two controlled companies were brought in to embezzle state millions, and officials made the tender itself secret in order to avoid open bidding and ensure the victory of the “right people.” The state enterprise controlled by the State Service for Special Communications entered into contracts with these companies for the supply of relevant software and services and transferred more than 285 million hryvnia. However, the actual cost of the software purchased from a foreign manufacturer by these companies amounted to 223 million hryvnia. The difference of more than 62 million hryvnia was taken by the participants of the scheme.
These funds were transferred to the accounts of companies abroad that are under the control of the organized group, with the aim of legalizing them and distributing them among its members.
Who was involved in the “scheme”?
As StopCor learned, the list of defendants includes six people: the chairman of the State Special Communications Service and his deputy; general director and employee of a state-owned enterprise; the owner of a group of companies (the organizer of the scheme) and one of his employees.
It is noteworthy that during the court hearing in this case, Yuri Shchigol was found to have a crypto wallet containing almost one and a half million dollars worth of cryptocurrency on his phone.
I wonder where a government official gets such savings?
After all, according to SAP data, the income of the head of the State Special Communications Service in recent years amounted to only UAH 4.5 million, the journalist states.
However, despite all the above facts, people’s deputies from the pro-government Servant of the People party Mikhail Kryachko and Alexander Fedienko showed their readiness to take Shchigol on bail. The first is the chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Digital Transformation, and the second is its deputy.
The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court decided that the ex-head of the State Service for Special Communications will remain in the pre-trial detention center for almost two months - until January 21, 2024. But the very next day after the preventive measure was determined, he was released on bail of 25 million UAH.
In addition to Shchigol, Roman Koval , who, according to investigators, is a key figure in organizing the scheme, was taken into custody, with the option of posting bail in the amount of 50 million hryvnia, and Viktor Zhora , with the alternative of posting 10 million hryvnia. But the head of a state-owned enterprise was only given a bail of 30 million hryvnia.
Why is the scheme in the State Special Communications Service especially harmful, and who “covered it up”?
Vitaly Deinega , founder of the “Come Back Alive” initiative and former Deputy Minister of Defense for Digital Development, published a message in which he expressed his own point of view about corruption in the State Special Communications Service.
According to the activist, this structure deliberately hinders the digitalization of the army and “ has actually become the “wallet and hands” of the Ministry of Digital Development .”
Why the outright theft of the budget in the State Special Communications Service against the backdrop of a full-scale invasion is especially cynical and dangerous is a rhetorical question. The editors of StopCor have already sent an appeal to law enforcement agencies regarding this matter and will carefully monitor the further progress of the case.
