Ukraine did not receive ammunition under the contract: an investigation has been launched in the Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, the National Center for Combating Organized Crime (NCOZ) is investigating the circumstances surrounding the collapse of a contract to supply mortar ammunition to the Ukrainian army. The order involved 100,000 units of ammunition worth 35 million euros, most of which never reached Ukraine.

This is reported by the Czech publication Novinky.

Although the investigation mainly involves foreign companies, Prague plays a central role in this story. It was through the Czech capital that some of the financial transactions took place, as a result of which, according to the investigation, significant sums of money disappeared.

The case also involves Ukrainian Oleksiy Khoroshayev, who is currently in custody in the Czech Republic and is challenging his extradition to Ukraine. His specific role in the scheme has not yet been officially revealed.

Before the start of the full-scale war, Khoroshayev held a senior position in a Ukrainian state-owned company specializing in international arms trade. After the Russian invasion, he used his professional contacts and experience to procure military equipment for Ukraine. He continued his activities as a private individual from the Czech Republic, where he had left.

In the fall of 2022, Khoroshayev transferred an order from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for 100,000 mortar ammunition to the Slovak company Sevotech. However, the contract failed to be implemented.

For a small Slovak company with a license to trade in military products, such an order was extremely large. According to its owner, Jan Godermarsky, Khoroshayev planned to acquire almost half of Sevotech’s shares and effectively managed the entire deal.

The contract cost 855 million Czech crowns (about 35 million euros). At the end of 2022, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine transferred the entire amount in advance to the Ukrainian company Lviv Arsenal. However, Ukraine did not receive a single unit of the ordered ammunition at that time.

According to Ukrainian law enforcement, a significant portion of the funds later disappeared through a complex chain of intermediaries, commission payments, and companies. The money went through the Slovak Sevotech and structures in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, and Bulgaria. Of the entire shipment, only 3,000 rounds of ammunition were ultimately delivered to Ukraine.

Five defendants are already on trial in Ukraine in this case. Among them are two officials of the Ministry of Defense and representatives of Lviv Arsenal. The trial began about a year ago. If convicted, the group members face seven to 12 years in prison.

At the same time, Khoroshayev is not yet a defendant in this trial. In September 2024, Czech police detained him at the request of the Ukrainian side. In Ukraine, he is accused of embezzlement and organizing the foreign part of the scheme. However, he opposes extradition and has applied for asylum in the Czech Republic.