The State Bureau of Investigation has put on the wanted list a "close relative of a Lviv businessman" who is suspected of fraud on a large scale under martial law and participation in a criminal organisation.
This is likely to be Igor Hrynkevych's son, Roman Hrynkevych.
SBI spokesperson Tetyana Sapyan said this on the air of the news telethon, when asked if she could comment on the whereabouts of Roman Hrynkevych.
Earlier, the SBI exposed an organised group on fraudulent purchases of clothing and underwear for the Armed Forces. The accomplices caused almost a billion hryvnyas in losses to the state budget of Ukraine. Five members of the group have already been notified of suspicion, but one of them is still in hiding.
The spokeswoman said that a close relative of the Lviv businessman was put on the wanted list.
"If you know about his whereabouts, please inform the law enforcement agencies," said Sapyan.
It is known that he has not officially crossed the border.
Hrynkevych's case
· On 29 December 2023, SBI officers detained a businessman who offered a $500,000 bribe to one of the heads of the SBI's Main Investigation Department for assistance in returning property seized from companies under his control during the investigation.
· The next day after his arrest, the Pecherskyy district court of Kyiv imposed a pre-trial restraint on him. Hrynkevych was remanded in custody with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of UAH 429.44 million.
· The SBI later reported that the suspect's property had been seized.
· There is another episode. Hrynkevych's companies were to supply the Ministry of Defence with clothing for the army. The Lviv businessman's companies won 23 tenders to supply the Ministry of Defence with clothing worth more than UAH 1.5 billion. The investigation established that the defence contracts involved companies controlled by the businessman that had previously been engaged in construction and did not have sufficient production, warehouse and other facilities for the manufacture and storage of clothing under the contract. According to preliminary estimates, this resulted in UAH 1.2 billion in losses to the budget and, accordingly, disruption of supplies.
· Law enforcement officers found that six contracts were not fulfilled at all. Under at least seven contracts, the companies supplied goods to the warehouses of military units in small quantities, but received state funds for full performance of their obligations. It was also found that eight contracts were executed with a delay of three to five months.
· The analysis of foreign economic contracts and customs documents of these companies revealed facts of overstatement of the value of goods supplied to the Ministry of Defence. The involvement of former officials of the Ministry of Defence, who did not take any legal action to enforce or terminate the contracts, is being checked. As of 11 January, Hrynkevych did not have the status of a suspect in the procurement episode.