A Ukrainian Defense Ministry official may have colluded with individuals from Russia to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces with tens of thousands of substandard bulletproof vests and questionable military uniforms. This cost the Ukrainian budget approximately 2 billion hryvnias ($47.2 million), and the vests were found to be unfit for use only after being sent to military units. Slidstvo.Info gained access to materials from the official investigation, which detailed evidence of these allegations.
Journalists also obtained military uniforms and, with the help of experts, confirmed their poor quality. Additionally, together with colleagues from the Bulgarian outlet BIRD, they uncovered more information about the Bulgarian firm that supplied the jackets and bulletproof vests, which is currently under investigation in Ukraine. Specifically, the official investigation alleges that the Bulgarian firm, with Russian owners, transferred over 1 million euros ($1 million) to the account of the former wife of a Defense Ministry official, who has since fled Ukraine and is evading investigation. The former official has refused to comment on this transfer when questioned by journalists.
JACKETS FOR THE FRONT THAT RUSTLE
“It’s like the worst of Shanzhai. The person was churning out these items so quickly that they didn’t have a moment to look up,” says Anna Suvorkina, an engineer at the Volonterka workshop, as she examines an army jacket. She has been sewing clothing for the Ukrainian Armed Forces for over two years and says she has never seen a jacket of such poor quality. Slidstvo.Info journalists brought her a new winter jacket for examination, which was issued to a soldier by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“It rustles a lot,” Suvorkina adds. “This is important, because when people sneak up on the frontline, they have to be noticed at the last minute.”
She notes that both the fabric and the threads used for sewing are very cheap and of poor quality.
The tag on the jacket she received reads “Mimaltemer LTD”. This is a Bulgarian company that, according to documents reviewed by Slidstvo.info, supplied almost 50,000 such jackets and pants to the Ukrainian army in 2022-2023. This cost the Ukrainian budget 8.5 million euros ($8.8 million).
In January 2023, soldier Dmytro “Kalynchuk” Vovnianko published a Facebook post about the poor quality of the pants he was issued. His photo also includes a tag with the name of the Bulgarian company Mimaltemer LTD.
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“This is a tag from the pants I was issued in December 2022… the only pants I was issued were made of camouflage fabric like raincoat fabric, insulated with fleece. First of all, they just get too hot indoors. The guys take them off and wear thermal underwear. Secondly, the fabric on these pants squeaks so much that you can hear them at least 20 meters away. These are pants for the army, you understand? Camouflage…”, the soldier wrote, emphasizing that the issued uniforms are “piss-poor” and unsuitable for war.
“It’s just an ordinary synthepone (polyester batting – ed.). It’s quite thin, of poor quality, it will quickly bunch up and tear,” Anna Suvorkina, an engineer at Volunterka workshop, continues her review of the jacket.
Her conclusion is that it took 1.5-2 hours to sew this jacket. According to the documents obtained by Slidstvo.info journalists, each set of such winter uniforms, consisting of jackets and pants, cost 170 euros ($175).
Judging by the court registry, no official investigation into the jackets and pants of dubious quality supplied by the Bulgarian company to Ukraine is currently underway. However, the court registry contains several documents regarding bulletproof vests supplied by the Bulgarian company Mimaltemer. Even more of them were supplied – about 80,000 units. However, later, when they were sent to Ukrainian soldiers, examinations conducted during the official investigation revealed that they were unsuitable for combat conditions.
BULGARIANS WITH RUSSIAN ROOTS
On March 5, 2022, when the Russians were still trying to capture Kyiv and attacking Ukraine from all directions, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine signed a contract with the Bulgarian company Mimaltemer LTD for the supply of 30,000 bulletproof vests. Over the next two months, another 52,000 bulletproof vests were contracted from the Bulgarians, which were much needed at the time. Subsequently, almost 50,000 sets of military uniforms were ordered and paid for. In total, according to the documents reviewed by Slidstvo.info, the Bulgarian company received 86.5 million euros ($91 million) in 2022, 78 million of which were for bulletproof vests and 8.5 million for army uniforms.
Mimaltemer is registered in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. At the time of the first agreements with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense in the spring of 2022, the owner was Isa Israilovich Merzhoyev. According to Russian databases, he has a valid Russian passport. In May 2022, when the EU and Ukraine began to impose sanctions on the Russian owners, French citizen Oksana Merjou became the new director and owner of the company. A deeper investigation of Russian databases revealed that Oksana Merzhoyeva (née Kaznacheyeva) has sons with Isa Merzhoyev and that they were all registered at the same address in Moscow for a long time. Both Oksana and Isa and their children had several companies in Russia and were doing business there at least until 2022. Thus, the Bulgarian company that supplies bulletproof vests to Ukraine is now owned by Oksana Merjou, apparently the wife of the previous owner.
Isa Merzhoyev
It was with her that the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense signed an agreement on September 13, 2022, for the supply of almost 50,000 winter clothing sets, a jacket from which was examined by Slidstvo.Info together with an expert. Oksana Merzhoyeva did not respond to calls from journalists.
BULLETPROOF VESTS UNSUITABLE FOR WAR
In cooperation with our Bulgarian colleagues from the BIRD investigative project, we established that the Mimaltemer company itself, according to the 2021 registry, officially had one employee. Therefore, it could hardly have produced 80,000 bulletproof vests in the five months that passed from the first contract to the first delivery, even if hundreds of workers were urgently recruited. We found the answer to the question of how they did it in the court registry:
“Report on the results of the visit of the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine PERSON_13 to the Republic of Turkiye, according to which the latter, together with PERSON_5, in the period from January 30, 2022 to February 01, 2022, communicated with representatives of Nurol Teknoloji, which are manufacturers of bulletproof vests supplied by MIMALTEMER LTD.”
In other words, according to the court ruling, in the run-up to the full-scale invasion, officials of the Ministry of Defense traveled to Turkiye, where the bulletproof vest manufacturer presented the Bulgarian firm as an intermediary.
We examined the customs records of purchases made by the Turkish company Mimaltemer. During the winter of 2022-2023, when the second contract for the supply of bulletproof vests was being fulfilled, the Bulgarian company purchased the vests for approximately $600 per unit: two plates for $160 each and a ballistic vest for $273. Meanwhile, as seen in the court registry, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense bought these vests for €800 ($824) each. This appears to be a substantial profit margin on vests deemed unfit for military use, according to the official investigation. In one of the court rulings, we found a mention that an expert analysis conducted during the official investigation confirmed that these vests could not be used by the army. This has caused damage to both the budget and the defense capability of Ukraine.
“PERSON_9, PERSON_13 and PERSON_5 are reasonably suspected of embezzling funds from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine … in the purchase of personal protective equipment that cannot be used by the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for their intended purpose, which, according to the experts … is causally related to the decline in the combat capability of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the decision says. We have identified all three people, who are anonymized in the court register. But more about them later.
“YOU WERE SUPPLIED WITH THE BEST BULLETPROOF VESTS”
Shortly after receiving the money from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the Merzhoyevs’ firm, according to documents from the official Bulgarian registry, bought a hotel in a 19th-century building in the center of Sofia for 1.7 million euros ($1.8 million). The building is currently being renovated. Our Bulgarian colleagues visited the building and learned from the builders that the cost of this renovation could reach 5-6 million euros ($5.2-6.2 million). Also in March 2023, Mimaltemer bought an apartment in the Bulgarian capital with an area of 112 m2 for 350,000 euros ($360,542).
A hotel in a 19th-century building in the center of Sofia for 1.7 million euros ($1.8 million).
Slidstvo.info spoke by phone with Isa Merzhoyev, the former head of Mimaltemer. He claimed he had not heard any complaints about the jackets supplied by Mimaltemer. “I don’t know what jacket you were given,” Merzhoyev said. “Two years have passed since the jackets were delivered. And, according to the Vienna Convention, which your Ukraine signed, no one has the right to say anything about the quality after two years.”
Isa Merzhoyev also insists that the bulletproof vests supplied to Ukraine were of the highest quality and there was no overpricing.
“You have been supplied with the best bulletproof vests produced by Turkiye. 20,000 pieces of these vests were kept as a reserve for the Turkish army,” Merzhoyev asserted. “Your people in Ukraine stole 2,500,000 bulletproof vests and provided false documents for customs clearance. Your people exchanged bulletproof vests, and sold bulletproof vests. It was the mafia operating in Ukraine. No wonder the Americans say you have corruption there. There is not a single case of someone being killed because of these bulletproof vests. Your investigator took used bulletproof vests and did an examination on them.” Isa Merzhoyev promised to provide documents confirming his accusations against the Ukrainian side, but after three weeks of communication, he is yet to provide them. In a conversation with our journalist, he also emphasized that he would never allow even a single low-quality bulletproof vest to enter Ukraine and that he has his own scores to settle with Russia, as he is Chechen.
Meanwhile, in response to a query from Slidstvo.Info, the Office of the Prosecutor General, although not answering several questions related to the official investigation, noted that the bulletproof vests from the Bulgarian firm were indeed unfit for use. “During the pre-trial investigation, based on the results of forensic ballistic and commodity examinations, it was established that the bulletproof vests purchased from the company mentioned in your request (Mimaltemer) do not meet state standards or NATO standards, and therefore cannot be used for their intended purpose,” the Office of the Prosecutor General responded.
FAMILY FRIENDS
We also learned from the court registry that the Merzhoyev family has been on friendly terms for many years with a Defense Ministry official who played an important role in the supply of bulletproof vests and jackets.
“The head of the department of development of material support of the Central Department for the Development and Support of Material Support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, PERSON_19, who directly selected MIMALTEMER LTD as a future supplier, has been on friendly terms with the director of the said company for at least the last seven years.”
“PERSON_19 and his family members, including his wife and daughter, left the territory of Ukraine in 2022 and reside in Nice, French Republic. At the same time, when opening accounts with Credit Agricole, the daughter indicated ADDRESS_6 as her residence address.”
We checked the Merzhoyevs’ real estate in the French state register. We find that Isa Merzhoyev’s son Mimalt owns a company called Azur. Its co-owner is a Ukrainian citizen born in 2000, Yevgeniia Vdovychenko.
Hennadiy Vdovychenko
In the register of declarations under the name “Vdovychenko” we find Hennadiy Pavlovych Vdovychenko, who in 2021 held the position of head of the Department of Development of Material Support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As an additional confirmation, we find his daughter Yevgeniia in his previous declarations.
In addition, we found a 2016 divorce case against Nataliya Volodymyrivna Vdovychenko in the court register. She is listed in the court register as “the ex-wife of PERSON_19” of Vdovychenko himself. According to the official investigation, it was to her accounts that part of the money for the bulletproof vests was transferred.
“Part of the funds received by MIMALTEMER LTD from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine… in the amount of 1,180,000.00 euros ($1,260,000) in the period from 05.04.2022 to 12.05.2022 was transferred to the account of the ex-wife of PERSON_19 opened with Credit Agricole,” the ruling says.
“The Vdovychenko you are talking about was involved in the escort of cargo (an order of the Ministry of Defense from a Bulgarian company – ed.),” Isa Merzhoyev explains. “When the war broke out, Vdovychenko’s wife… (no one knew whose wife she was, but we had known Vdovychenko before because our children played tennis). When this wife of Vdovychenko called, came and said ‘I’m on the run’, we helped her. Now it turned out that Vdovychenko, who was working with us under a contract, was married to her at the time. An absolute coincidence.” When asked about his son and Vdovychenko’s daughter jointly owning a company in France, Merzhoyev said that “if they want to, they will have a company, and if they don’t want to, they won’t.”
Slidstvo.info was unable to contact either Nataliya Vdovychenko or her daughter Yevgeniia. Former Defense Ministry official Hennadiy Vdovychenko himself responded in a written comment to the journalists about the transfer of more than 1 million euros ($1 million) from the accounts of a Bulgarian company to his ex-wife’s account: “This issue does not concern me. I advise you to seek clarification from the persons involved.”
MINUS 2 BILLION HRYVNIAS FROM THE BUDGET
According to the announcement on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Hennadiy Vdovychenko is now wanted as a person hiding from the investigation. He is accused under two articles at once: misappropriation or embezzlement of property by abuse of office. He is also charged with obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which led to the death of people or other serious consequences. The most severe punishment under these articles is 15 years in prison.
Hennadiy Vdovychenko answered the questions from Slidstvo.info in writing. He, like Merzhoyev, claims that he has no information about the jackets of dubious quality and insists that the bulletproof vests are of appropriate quality.
“The Ministry of Defense’s claims against the Supplier are only for a small portion of the delivered goods (13,000 bulletproof vests), while simultaneously, claims against former Ministry of Defense employees cover the entire amount under the two supply contracts (95,000 bulletproof vests). Indeed, the figure looks impressive, giving the media something to talk about. Never mind that the case is a nothingburger,” Vdovychenko wrote. “The vests seized by the SBI were in use and operation by military personnel for over a year and could have been subjected to various physical and mechanical stresses (falls, impacts, etc.) during their use, loading, unloading, and transportation. Additionally, there could have been instances where military personnel replaced the ballistic plates with those from other suppliers or with their own. The above factors could significantly impact the final results of the expert analyses.”
In the response to Slidstvo.Info, Vdovychenko also claimed that he had left Ukraine legally and attended every court hearing. However, he did not provide any details about the reasons for his departure or plans to return home.
The court registry mentioned not only Vdovychenko but also three officials from the Ministry of Defense. So, we entered Vdovychenko’s name on the Judiciary’s website and found a case that was transferred to the High Anti-Corruption Court several months ago. Here we see the defendants: Shapovalov, Khmelnytskyi, and Vdovychenko.
Khmelnytskyi, Shapovalov and Vdovychenko
It appears that the Office of the Prosecutor General has accused these former Ministry of Defense officials of embezzling nearly 2 billion hryvnias ($47.2 million). “The equipment was purchased at inflated prices with 100% upfront payment,” as stated in the notice about the case being transferred to the HACCU. “The former officials accepted the personal protective equipment without inspection and delivered substandard products to the military warehouses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the conclusions of the expert analyses, the equipment does not meet the state and military standards of Ukraine, nor the technical requirements for the procurement of various types of bulletproof vests, and cannot adequately protect Ukrainian military personnel. As a result of the defendants’ illegal actions, some units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were not properly equipped with personal protective equipment worth nearly 2 billion hryvnias.”
It is worth noting that, according to the documents reviewed by Slidstvo.Info, the amount transferred by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to the Bulgarian firm Mimaltemer totaled 86.5 million euros, which, at the average exchange rate of 2022 when the funds were transferred, amounts to nearly 3 billion hryvnias ($91.1 million).
In the previous version of the article, a photo of Bohdan Stanislavovych Khmelnytskyi, a lawyer and co-founder of the All-Ukrainian Public Organization Stop Corruption, was mistakenly used instead of Bohdan Volodymyrovych Khmelnytskyi, a former official of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Lawyer Bohdan Stanislavovych Khmelnytskyi has no connection to stories involving the embezzlement of Ministry of Defense funds. The editorial team of Slidstvo.Info sincerely apologizes for this error. (UPDATED 10.01.2025)
