Ukraine alleges $40 million defense procurement fraud and more

Ukraine alleges $40 million defense procurement fraud

Ukrainian authorities have accused high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Defense and arms supplier Lviv Arsenal of stealing nearly 1.5 billion hryvnias ($40 million) in the purchase of 100,000 mortar shells.

Ukraine’s security service SBU reported that the military made a deal for the shells with Lviv Arsenal just six months after Russia invaded the country in 2022. Payment was made in advance, but the weapons never arrived, and funds were then transferred to foreign accounts. So far, five people have been served “notices of suspicion,” the first step in Ukraine’s legal proceedings.

According to Reuters, the accusations come at a particularly sensitive time for the nation beleaguered by war — rooting out endemic corruption is a major issue in its bid to join the European Union. (See “Ukraine says it uncovers mass fraud in weapons procurement,” Reuters, Jan. 28, 2024.)

A ‘miscarriage of justice’

A massive scandal in the U.K. Post Office is back in the spotlight thanks to a popular drama on the British TV network, ITV. The drama, “Mr Bates vs The Post Office,” depicts the wrongful convictions of hundreds of postal workers in what the Criminal Cases Review Commission deemed “the most widespread miscarriage of justice” it has ever seen.

Between 1999 and 2015, 700 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for false accounting and theft because of incorrect shortfalls reported by the computer system Horizon, developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu. Many were sent to prison, and some had to cover the losses themselves, forcing people to declare bankruptcy.

The government promised to compensate the 555 sub-postmasters who took legal action against the Post Office in 2017. And although they won the right to have their cases reconsidered, only 95 convictions have been overturned as of Jan. 15. (See “Post Office scandal explained: What the Horizon saga is all about,” by Kevin Peachey, Michael Race and Vishala Sri-Pathma, BBC News, Jan. 23, 2023.)

And the Emmy goes to…

In January, an investigation by The Athletic revealed that for years ESPN staff members illicitly secured 30 Emmys for on-air personnel who were otherwise ineligible for awards. According to a probe conducted by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), ESPN staff submitted fake names for the credits list of the show “College GameDay” to win multiple Sports Emmys for Outstanding Weekly Studio Show and to bypass a rule that limited talent from being included in the credits list. ESPN removed the fraudulent nameplates from their awards and then had the statues engraved anew for the “winners.”

An ESPN spokesperson said in a statement that it was a misguided attempt to recognize on-air talent and apologized to NATAS for violating the guidelines. ESPN has since disciplined the responsible staff members. (See “ESPN Secured Emmys With Years-Long Fake-Name Scheme,” by Brian Steinberg, Variety, Jan. 11, 2024 and “ESPN Responds To Shocking Report About Fraudulent Emmy Submissions For ‘College GameDay’ Talent: ‘Members Of Our Team Were Wrong’,” by Lynette Rice, Deadline, Jan. 11, 2024.)