Former Ukrainian Defence Official Accused of Selling Six Decommissioned Navy Ships

The Office of the Prosecutor General reported that a coordinated scheme to sell six naval vessels as scrap metal has left the state with losses exceeding 900,000 hryvnia.

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Handcuffed man

Investigators say a former head of the Ministry of Defence department that handles disposal of military property abused his position to steer six decommissioned vessels to a private buyer. The ships — listed among them Fastiv, Yevpatoria and Borshchev — had been written off because of poor technical condition and obsolescence and should have been processed through the legally required disposal procedure.

Artificial downgrading and a rigged tender

Rather than following statutory dismantling rules, the defendants allegedly reclassified the ships into the lowest category, allowing them to market the hulls as ordinary scrap. The group then ensured a deliberately undervalued appraisal and staged a formal tender whose outcome produced a preselected private firm as the winner. Authorities say the metal’s sale price dropped multiple times below market value, delivering an undue commercial windfall to the buyer.

Charges and state damage

As a result of the scheme, the co-operating company received illicit profits while the state sustained losses of more than ₴900,000. Prosecutors have notified all three suspects of suspicion for abuse of office committed by a group by prior conspiracy, causing grave consequences.