Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau says proceeds from corrupt schemes carried out in the country have been discovered in 41 nations around the world. The agency, posting on its Facebook page on April 24, said that businesses in at least 10 countries have been involved in helping get the money out of Ukraine.
“Overall, detectives from the bureau found ‘traces’ of Ukrainian corruption in 41 countries,” reads the post.
In a video, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau said that some $208 million had made its way to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, $10.8 million to Austria and $99 million to Cyprus.
The figures come as the National Anti-Corruption Bureau continues its investigation into state enterprise Eastern Ore Mining and Processing, where it says corrupt officials embezzled $17.28 million between 2013 and 2016 through a scheme involving artificially inflated prices on procurement of Kazakh uranium concentrate. The bureau says the illegally gained funds were funneled through an Austrian shell company.
The investigation into the state enterprise has so far brought to light five suspects, including Mykola Martynenko, a former member of parliament for the People’s Front faction and top ally of former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
The bureau revealed that in the course of its inquiries in the case, which began in December 2015, it made 16 requests for assistance to graft-fighting institutions in eight countries, more than during any other probe it has undertaken.
“The case on the damage inflicted by Eastern Ore Mining and Processing is unique, not only because of its significance for Ukraine as Europe’s biggest uranium mining enterprise,” said a statement on the bureau’s website, “but also because of the amount of work carried out by the bureau in relation to the corruption schemes carried out there. Among all investigations, it has set a record in terms of the volume of correspondence with institutions in other countries.”
The bureau said that as a result of information it received from foreign authorities it was able to establish that the funds stolen by officials at Eastern Ore Mining and Processing were spent on things like medical services and property rentals in European Union countries.
