The ex-head of the State Enterprise (SE) "Ukraine Printing Plant" was informed of suspicion in the case of exposing a corruption scheme in a state-owned enterprise in 2013-2016. Previously, Stepanov was the Minister of Health in the government of Denys Shmyhal.
Sources of "Babel" in the law enforcement agencies note that the ex-head of the company is charged with two articles — embezzlement of property (Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code) and money laundering (Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code). He faces up to 12 years in prison.
According to the investigation, in 2013, the then head of the polygraph factory purchased an Estonian company through a proxy, through which he organized the purchase of materials for the production of forms for passports, ID cards, driverʼs licenses, etc.
The straw company purchased materials directly from manufacturers, and then resold them to a state-owned enterprise at prices that were four to six times higher. Under this scheme, more than 450 million hryvnias were withdrawn from the enterprise.
In addition, the suspects registered the intellectual property right to the graphic elements of Ukrainian passports with a foreign company, which allowed them to receive additional remuneration — royalties. The Cabinet of Ministers stopped these payments at the beginning of 2022 at the initiative of NABU and SAP.
NABU claims that the main suspect legalized part of the money — almost $1.5 million — in Ukraine, in particular through the fictitious sale of corporate rights at an inflated price.
Investigators not only from Ukraine, but also from Estonia and France took part in exposing the scheme.
In total, there are five suspects in the case. In addition to Stepanov, this is the former head of the department of the printing plant, two citizens of Estonia who worked in the laying company, and another Ukrainian, who is considered an accomplice.