US military clothing supplier accuses Defense Ministry and National Police of bribery and corruption

The American company Sinclair & Wilde has accused the National Police of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defense of corruption and bribery. Ukrainian officials have refused to pay the American company for a contract to supply military uniforms, demanding a bribe.

This is stated in an open letter from Sinclair & Wilde to the National Police of Ukraine.

"Sinclair & Wilde categorically denies the false and baseless claims made in the recently released video by the National Police Force of Ukraine. It is clear that the release of this story is an attempt by the National Police Force to cover up its own internal corruption and the corruption of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in its continued attempts to deny payment to Sinclair & Wilde after it repeatedly refused to pay bribes requested of it," the open letter says.

The document states that Sinclair & Wilde had five contracts to supply the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense with military uniforms and textiles. A Turkish company acted as a subcontractor. Despite receiving all the goods, the Ministry of Defense refused to pay USD 14.5 million. The company claims that the condition for returning the money was the payment of a bribe.

"Throughout 2023, multiple individuals – including subjects of US and Ukrainian investigations – solicited bribes from Sinclair & Wilde to secure payment of the remaining $14.5 million owed to it. Sinclair & Wilde refused and reported these solicitations to US and Ukrainian authorities. In an attempt to obey the laws of both the United States and Ukraine, Sinclair & Wilde brought the solicitation of bribes and apparent MOD corruption to the attention of US Embassy in Kyiv, US law enforcement, and Ukrainian law enforcement authorities over one year ago," the letter states.

The company also claims to have provided the National Police of Ukraine with all confidential information, including witnesses and evidence that refute the allegations against Sinclair & Wilde.

"The response of the National Police Force of Ukraine was to leak the details of the investigation to Maksim Hrytsenko, former Head of Procurement for the Ministry of Defense, and others, putting the lives of cooperating witnesses at risk in the process, one of whom is an American Citizen. And within days of a confidential meeting with the National Police, Roman Balykin – a supposed target of the current investigation – knew all of the details of the meeting. As a result, US authorities have refused to continue working with the National Police," Sinclair & Wilde says.

Because of this incident, U.S. authorities refused to continue cooperation with the National Police.

Sinclair & Wilde also denies the National Police's accusations of inflating prices for supplied products.

"Law enforcement organizations and defense officials have examined the uniforms and found the prices charged by Sinclair & Wilde to be BELOW fair market value, particularly when you account for the costs associated with shipping and logistics," the open letter states.