A group of Turkish citizens allegedly siphoned off nearly $5 million from the Ukrainian government with false promises of defense equipment deliveries in the first days of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, according to a senior Ukrainian official.

Volodymyr Krakovetskyi, a communications director at the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, told police in Ankara in early April that he was conned by a Turkish defense company employee and a businessman who promised to deliver military helmets and body armor to Ukrainian officials in Poland, according to official sources speaking to Breaking Defense. The police launched an inquiry and briefly arrested five suspects last week. A court in Ankara released the suspects on April 25, pending charges.

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Krakovetskyi said he agreed to a $5 million deal with defense equipment company Aka Arms Defence to purchase 5,000 combined sets of helmets and body armor, worth $1,050 each, to be delivered within a week of the March 6 agreement. In subsequent meetings, the people also purportedly tried to sell Stinger missiles to Krakovetskyi, who rejected the offer on legal grounds, saying that the sale of such weapons could only be between the sovereign states.

Read more: Breaking Defense