On July 7, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) searched the home of Oleksiy Babenko, the owner of drone manufacturer VYRIY INDUSTRIES and shareholder of Babel. The case concerns possible overpricing of drones.
After that, Babenko held a press conference. Babel collected the main points of his statements.
About searches
Searches were conducted today at over 40 locations, including at the company and at the homes of Babenkoʼs relatives. Law enforcement officers seized documents from the company, individual entrepreneurs, personal phones, and Babenkoʼs personal funds — approximately $10 000.
There was no court order for the searches — they were carried out as "urgent actions". It is currently unknown who is accused in the case. Babenko is being questioned as a witness.
They found UAH 40 million in cash in the office — Babenko says itʼs money for the companyʼs employeesʼ salaries. They pay in cash for security reasons, so that banks donʼt have lists of employees. The money is legal, and “Vyriy” provided SBI with documents for the cash.
On the accusations regarding the inflated prices of drones
The main complaint of law enforcement officers is the inflated price of the “Vyriy” drones. According to the State Bureau of Investigation, in 2025 the company signed contracts with the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) for UAH 6.95 billion.
Law enforcement officers are checking whether the costs of production, administration, and other components that affected the final purchase price were unreasonably increased.
However, Babenko cited data that shows that the cost of the companyʼs FPV drones is approximately 20% lower than on the drone market. For comparison: the average price of a 10-inch VYRIY drone is UAH 16 314, while competitorsʼ drones cost UAH 21 967.
«Babel'»
Currently, 212 military units are purchasing VYRIY drones through the BRAVE1 decentralized defense procurement platform. As of the end of June, 33% of product orders through DOT-Chain Defence are for VYRIY drones.
The companyʼs drones rank third in terms of confirmed hits. With money from European donor countries, “Vyriy” has delivered 70 000 FPV drones.
«Babel'»
About where the individual entrepreneurs in the accusations came from
Law enforcement officials said they had identified over 150 individual entrepreneurs who could have been used in the scheme. Among them were manicurists, students, store employees, etc. During interrogations, some of them admitted that they were not actually engaged in entrepreneurial activities, but only provided their documents for registration in exchange for money.
According to Babenko, all of these individual entrepreneurs are manufacturers of components for drones.
About company security issues
According to Babenko, the searches will affect the companyʼs operations, but not the number of drones shipped. The company will change its security policy to protect production and employees.
Babenko also said that three weeks ago, a Russian “Iskander” missile almost hit his house. Since then, he has been living in hotels. The day before yesterday, he found a house, and today he will have to move out because they conducted searches there.
About major versions
Babenko does not think that the "Skelya" assault regiment, about the torture and deaths of which Babel published an investigation, is involved in todayʼs searches.
According to Babenko, this looks “like a deliberate attack”: “Someone wanted to advance their petty interests and went a little too far.”
He assured: “We don’t want to fight anyone but the Russians.”
Previously, Babel wrote that after the publication of the investigation into torture in the "Skelya" assault regiment, a large-scale campaign to discredit the publication and the investor began on anonymous Telegram channels and Facebook groups.
In particular, dozens of publications and videos stated that the publication was made at the request of Oleksiy Babenko and that in this way he was fighting the General Staff and playing into the hands of the Russians.
A few days ago, a message about searches of Babenkoʼs house appeared on anonymous Telegram channels — with a fake photo and information that investigators found $5 million in his home.
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