A Kyiv court during a custody hearing on November 11 ordered a major general at the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to six months in pretrial detention or be released on bail set at $3.1 million in a public-procurement embezzlement case involving substandard bulletproof vests.
Dmytro Marchenko, the main directorate chief at the Defense Ministry, is accused with four other suspects of causing about $4 million in losses to the state when purchasing 100,000 sets of military uniforms, 20,000 inferior bulletproof vests, and defective tents for the army at inflated prices.
Three out of five bulletproof vests were found to be pierceable during testing, State Bureau of Investigations (DBR) chief Roman Truba said on his Telegram messaging channel.
In July, the DBR published audio recordings of Defense Ministry officials speaking about the specific brand of vests that were bought, their low quality, of having knowledge bullets could pierce them, and that they didn't meet technical standards.
The Pechersk district court of Kyiv has yet to preside over custody hearings for the other four suspects, who have not been named.
Truba added that more suspects will be arrested in the case in the future.
In June, the DBR conducted 40 searches at the residences of dozens of Defense Ministry officials related to purchases of military gear at inflated prices.
