Officials walk away with $2.3 billion earned from arms sales over past 4 years, lawmaker Konovaliuk claims

He also stressed that, by selling stocks of Soviet arms, Ukraine is, in fact, damaging its military/industrial complex.

Blowing the whistle on corruption in the arms-selling organizations, Valery Konovaliuk cited a case involving two Land Rover vehicles. “My commission has information that 2 armored Land Rovers were delivered to Ukraine from Georgia in payment for arms supplies,” he said.

“Now we requested the Main Audit Department to trace these Land Rovers. Who their present owners are, individuals or a state organization?” he stressed.

Such kind of investigations won’t give Ukraine a black eye in the world, the lawmaker assured. Corrupt government officials selling arms can smear Ukraine easily. When 6 years ago the then opposition began to fan a scandal regarding the alleged supplies of Kolchuga radars to Iraq, it intended to destabilize the situation ahead of the presidential election. No Kolchugas were sent to Iraq, of course, but financial sanctions were imposed on Ukraine and talks on eurointegration stalled. No one was held accountable for all this, V. Konovaliuk said.

Asked by journalists whether he was acting on orders from Moscow, V. Konovaliuk answered ironically that the hand of Moscow is now blamed for all Ukraine’s misfortunes like the abortive coalition, ruined stability and regime’s corruption.

He stressed his commission’s work is based on the law. “We have to put sales of arms in order,” he concluded.