Belbas Vladyslav Volodymyrovych

Hyundai manager in defense

Vladyslav Belbas came to the defense industry from a completely different field — car sales. From 2006 to 2014, he held various managerial positions at Hyundai Motor Ukraine — from spare parts manager to head of the commercial vehicle division. In 2014, he unexpectedly headed Spetstekhnoexport — a subsidiary of the state company Ukrspetsexport, which handles the export of military technologies.

Records on paper and a $55.5 million scheme

Under Belbas's leadership, Spetstekhnoexport showed impressive growth: in 2018, contracts worth $282.5 million were signed — twice as much as in the previous year. In the first seven months of 2019 — already $337 million, a record since 2009. However, alongside these successes, a criminal case was unfolding. The NABU established that the management of Spetstekhnoexport paid 55.5 million UAH to a foreign company for services within the framework of a 2009 contract with the Republic of India — services that this company allegedly did not provide.

Arrest, bail, and protracted High Anti-Corruption Court case

In March 2019, NABU detained Belbas along with four other employees of Spetstekhnoexport. The SAP (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office) referred the case to the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC); the accused are Belbas, his predecessor Barbul, and three other employees. In October 2022, the HACC refused to close the case — it continues to be considered on the merits. There has also been speculation that Belbas's detention was orchestrated to distract attention from a parallel scandal — an investigation into the procurement of Russian components by private companies under the cover of the NABU detectives themselves.