The Security Service of Ukraine and the State Bureau of Investigations, under the procedural supervision of the Office of the Prosecutor General, together with French law enforcement agencies, carried out a series of searches in Nice.

These investigative measures in France were carried out in response to a request for international legal assistance as part of criminal proceedings concerning the money laundering of funds received in 2022 during the procurement of substandard personal protective equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

According to the investigation, the participants in the scheme used budget funds totalling nearly two billion Hryvnias – received as a 100 per cent advance payment – to purchase 67,000 bulletproof vests for the Ukrainian Defence Forces. However, an independent ballistic examination revealed that they did not meet the declared protection class.

The law enforcement agencies are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the subsequent use of the funds, in particular the purchase by those involved of luxury property (residential and commercial premises) in France, which was registered in the names of their family members.

During searches, documents, mobile phones and other electronic devices were seized and have now been handed over for forensic analysis.

The suspects’ properties and bank accounts in France have been frozen.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. The law enforcement agencies are continuing to gather and examine evidence, as well as carrying out the necessary investigative and procedural measures.

The criminal proceedings concerning the circumstances of the actual purchase of the bulletproof vests are already under the court’s consideration.

The Ukrainian side expresses its gratitude to the respective authorities of the French Republic for their effective cooperation and assistance in carrying out investigative measures.