Representatives of enterprises involved in the production of armored vehicles, shells, weapons and equipment propose to dissolve the State Audit Service of Ukraine (SASU) due to its demand to return profits for the execution of the state order for 2022.
At a press conference, they reported that two or three months ago, the State Antimonopoly Service conducted an audit of defense procurement and came to the conclusion that all profits of defense companies are considered a loss to the state, after which they demanded that enterprises and customers return it.
According to the speakers, based on this letter, law enforcement agencies could initiate criminal cases against manufacturers who supplied weapons during 2022, and such possible actions by law enforcement agencies threaten to disrupt government orders and shortages of weapons at the front.
“As we have learned, the State Bureau of Investigation is currently falsifying a case against our company, which will become a precedent for an attack on the entire military-industrial complex. Having in hand a legally void conclusion from the State Antimonopoly Service, they want to accuse us of causing damage to the state due to the company making a profit,” said Vladislav Belbas, general director of the Ukrainian Armored Vehicles company.
He pointed out that the company had already paid income tax, and invested the earnings in the production of weapons to defeat the aggressor.
Belbas added that the actions of the GBR will lead to a halt in the production of mortars, armored vehicles, disruption of the supply of critical 120 mm mines and 120 mm ammunition and an increase in losses on the battlefield. According to him, such activities of the State Antimonopoly Service and the State Bureau of Investigation create grounds to suspect Russian intelligence infiltration of Ukrainian government and law enforcement agencies.
Let us note that previously Vladislav Belbas headed the Spetstechnoexport company, which was part of the Ukroboronprom state concern. As a result of his work in the structure of the state concern, he became a defendant in criminal proceedings.
“A few weeks ago we received a letter of claim, according to which one of the main departments of the State Emergency Service (SSES) demands that we return profits within a month... If this is not done, then... will go to court to recover profits forcibly order,” Roman Sereda, Deputy General Director for Legal Affairs of PK Pozhmashina LLC, described the situation.
According to him, the basis for such actions is the conclusion of the State Antimonopoly Service.
In turn, the head of the All-Ukrainian Association of Light Industry Employers, Alexander Sokolovsky, noted the need to reduce regulatory authorities.
“There should be fewer law enforcement agencies, and their quality should be higher. I believe that we need to start eliminating unnecessary organs from the State Autonomous Institution. Because I don’t understand at all why the State Audit Office is needed if there is an Accounts Chamber, protected by the Constitution, which also has serious specialists,” Sokolovsky noted.
According to him, it is necessary to set the task of improving the quality of work of the state apparatus by reducing regulators.
“We need to spend our time, effort and money on creating a product, on developing new products, on production issues, on raising people’s wages because they are leaving, and this problem existed even before the war, instead of spending our time for a war with our own state,” Sokolovsky emphasized.
