Dubai dealings: Family ties and defence contracts under scrutiny
The family of Hennadii Kasai, a deputy from the presidential party Servant of the People and a member of the parliamentary defence committee, owns real estate in Dubai worth over £790,000 – reports a journalistic investigation by Radio Free Europe (RFE).
Based on mortgage records, RFE journalists discovered that Kasai's 22-year-old daughter owns an apartment valued at approximately £245,000.
Meanwhile, his 25-year-old nephew, Oleksandr Kasai, owns three apartments in Dubai with a total value exceeding £600,000.
Oleksandr Kasai was a shareholder in the Turkish company Vector Avia, which received a contract worth £22 million from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence for the production of uniforms. According to an investigation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the clothing delivered by the company was of low quality. It cost the ministry three times more than the prices stated in Turkish customs declarations.
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Two co-owners of Vector Avia are suspected of embezzling public funds through a conspiracy to defraud £22 million. The SBU reported that Oleksandr Kasai left Ukraine in May of the previous year, and his associate left a year earlier.
In a written response to journalists' questions, Hennadii Kasai stated that his daughter and nephew are adults, financially independent, and living separately. However, he could not explain the source of the funds used to purchase the Dubai properties. He also denied any links to his nephew's company's contract for military equipment supply.
Hennadii Kasai, as a member of the defence committee, may be in a conflict of interest regarding his family's contracts with the Ministry of Defence. The case raises questions about the transparency of the deputy's actions and those of his relatives.
