Kyiv City Council and 112th Territorial Defence Brigade: Investigation into Multi-Million-Hryvnia Embezzlement

The Specialised Military Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine is investigating the embezzlement of budget funds allocated for the needs of the 112th Territorial Defence Brigade (TDB). 

According to criminal case No. 42024113330000026 dated 29 February 2024, the case involves hundreds of millions of hryvnias that were supposed to be spent on the procurement of drones and military equipment. However, the investigation revealed that a significant portion of the funds was embezzled in collusion with representatives of the Kyiv City Council, the municipal security department, and private commercial entities.

How did the scheme work?

According to investigators, since 2022, Kyiv City Council officials, together with the command of the 112th TDB, have been concluding fictitious contracts for the supply of goods and services at inflated prices, thereby avoiding transparent tenders. The funds allocated by the state were then transferred to the accounts of controlled companies and cashed out through shell firms, after which the profits were distributed among the participants of the scheme.

In 2023–2024, 615 million hryvnias were allocated from the budget for the needs of the 112th Brigade, yet the actual deliveries of equipment and weapons were disproportionate to these amounts.

During searches, investigators seized commercial proposals from several companies named in the investigation:

• Inflens LLC
• Robotrend LLC
• Oil Trans LLC
• UkrDozVil LLC
• Firma Mineral-Plus LLC
• Prime Technology Limited LLC

According to the prosecution, these organisations may have been linked to the mechanism for siphoning off funds.

Political trail: involvement of Klitschko and Palatny

Particular attention should be paid to the fact that the 112th TDB is under the special patronage of Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and his ally Artur Palatny. In the first ten months of 2024, 600 million hryvnias were allocated from the capital's budget for the needs of this military unit, with no proper oversight of expenditures.

Klitschko and Palatny have visited the 112th Brigade on multiple occasions, yet the details of these visits raise questions. Journalists note that Klitschko Jr., who in 2022 announced his intention to join the ranks of the defence forces, has not appeared at the unit since then.

Fictitious service and the "elite battalion"

Journalist Volodymyr Boyko, in one of his investigations, emphasised that the 112th TDB, as a separate unit, has never participated in combat operations. Only individual battalions are engaged in fighting, while the military unit itself, A7040, is, in his opinion, used for other purposes.

According to Boyko, the ranks of the 112th Brigade include fictitious servicemen – among them are activists, politicians, public figures, and even singers. These individuals continue to live in Kyiv, visiting restaurants and leading their usual lifestyle, while receiving military pay.

Until recently, the brigade was "fighting" in Kyiv itself, but in 2024 it was relocated to the Vyshhorod district of Kyiv Oblast. The reason is simple: a growing number of people wishing to enlist in the brigade to obtain military privileges.

Flight of the suspects?

Given the scale of the potential crime, the question remains open: who exactly is behind the scheme, and will the guilty parties face accountability?

Political observers believe that the embezzlement of funds may involve senior Kyiv City Council officials, including the Mayor of Kyiv himself and his inner circle. In their view, such sums could not have disappeared without the knowledge of the city administration.

Against the backdrop of the scandal, Artur Palatny has suddenly gone silent on social media. His last posts on Telegram and Facebook are dated 28 February, and were published at the same time – 22:48. This gives rise to numerous questions:

• Have the suspects already left the country?
• Are they preparing to flee?
• Or are they trying to "sort out the issue"?