The SBU does not disclose names, but according to "Interfax-Ukraine", it concerns Boris Lebedtsov, who held this position from March 2020 to June 2022.
Based on the case materials, during the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, the official unilaterally approved the purchase of a large batch of computers from a private company for the central office of the ministry.
"The agreement was signed by the then-deputy minister in violation of the law, as it did not align with the goals and objectives of the cooperation project with the World Bank, under which the procurement of computer equipment was supposed to take place, and it was also not approved by the Ministry of Digital Transformation," law enforcement officials claim.
A forensic economic examination conducted as part of the investigation established that the actions of the former official caused damage to the state budget of Ukraine amounting to over 24 million UAH, the SBU noted. He has been notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (official negligence), which provides for a penalty of two to five years in prison with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions.
Lebedtsov was the subject of an investigation by journalists from "Slidstvo.Info", published in December 2023. The authors discovered that at the beginning of the full-scale war, the Ministry of Social Policy allocated nearly 164 million hryvnias intended for the procurement and delivery of humanitarian aid to people affected by the occupiers to dubious organizations. In several cases, the assistance paid for by the state was not provided at all, the material states.