The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is delaying the investigation into the potential misappropriation of 80.6 million UAH in state funds during wartime drone procurements. The case involves Aleksandr Konotopskyi, founder of Ajax Systems, alongside senior officials from the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the Ministry of Defense, and the State Special Communications Service.
The case (Criminal Proceeding No. 52023000000000600) focuses on two procurement batches of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) executed in 2023 by the Procurement Department of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP). Investigators have qualified the case under Part 5 of Article 191 (large-scale embezzlement of property) and Part 3 of Article 209 (money laundering) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
According to investigators, the supplies were delivered by «Zakhyst ta Okhorona Servis» LLC (linked to Yurii Volian and Serhii Horbatiuk). The case details two main procurement episodes:
DJI Mavic 3 Systems: 400 units were purchased at 140,000 UAH per unit (totaling 56 million UAH). Market rates at the time ranged from 43,000 to 100,000 UAH, resulting in an estimated overpayment of at least 15.9 million UAH.
Autel EVO Max 4T Systems: 1,300 units were procured. Initial pricing was set at 494,000 UAH per unit (642.2 million UAH). Although the price was later reduced, investigators estimate the inflated mark-up still cost the state an additional 64.7 million UAH.
Total damages to the state budget are estimated at nearly 80.6 million UAH.
«After receiving funds from the SSSCIP, the contractor transferred $6.6 million to the Polish company Legal Group SP Z O.O. A portion of these funds was subsequently routed to the accounts of three offshore shell companies in Mauritius. Investigators are examining whether these entities were used to artificially inflate prices and siphon capital offshore.»
The case files include authorized covert investigative actions (surveillance and wiretaps) targeting high-ranking officials, including Deputy Prime Minister for Innovations Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Oleksandr Borniakov, Deputy Minister of Defense Oleksii Vyskub, and the leadership of the SSSCIP.
Despite the gathered evidence, the investigation has effectively ground to a halt. Reports indicate that NABU detectives Aznavur Sevyan and Andrii Denysiuk, who handled the case at different periods, were forced to resign from the bureau. Their departures followed systematic sabotage of the investigation by internal leadership and repeated leaks of covert surveillance materials to the key suspects.