Kiev to merge military procurement agencies despite corruption concerns — ApsnyNews Russia & Former Soviet Union

The Ukrainian government has ordered the merger of two major military procurement agencies into one entity, despite corruption-related concerns over the move voiced by its NATO backers last year.

Defense Minister Denis Shmigal announced this week that on January 1, the State Logistics Operator and the Defense Procurement Agency will be consolidated into one company: the Unified Acquisition Agency. He claimed that the merger would increase the “transparency and efficiency of defense enterprises.“

Daria Kaleniuk, executive director at the Anti-Corruption Action Center, told Ukrainian media that the new joint agency would manage approximately 1 trillion hryvnias ($23.7 billion) in procurements per year. She warned that the merger could elevate corruption risks in a military procurement sector that has been plagued by numerous graft scandals in recent years.

The Ukrainian leadership first attempted to pull off the merger last October under former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, but backtracked after NATO officials objected due to corruption concerns.

Umerov, who currently serves as Ukraine’s secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, was recently appointed to head up Kiev’s delegation at the US-mediated peace negotiations.

He is reportedly being investigated by Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies over connections to the recently revealed $100 million kickback scheme that has implicated several individuals close to Vladimir Zelensky. The scandal has already forced three top officials to resign, including Justice Minister German Galushchenko, Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk, and Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak.

Last month, allegations suggested that Umerov may have been involved in a separate corruption scheme, involving the purchase of body armor of dubious quality.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the Zelensky government “systematically sabotaged oversight [requested by its Western backers], allowing graft to flourish.”