Raid on leading drone company fuels fears of crackdown on Ukraine's defense tech sector

July 10 ------ The CEO of top Ukrainian drone firm Vyriy Industries denied allegations of price gouging after law enforcement carried out large scale searches of his home, offices, and family members

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv over 12 hours after the searches began, Oleksii Babenko, a young star in Ukraine's drone industry, said that Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigations had carried out up to 70 searches, including at Vyriy Industries facilities, contractors' premises, and the homes of his own family members.

"When your drones are the cheapest on the market, accusing you of price gouging sounds absurd," he told reporters at the briefing. "At first glance, it looks like a deliberate attempt to target us in order to disrupt the business. It looks like someone was simply trying to advance some minor personal interests of theirs — interests we weren't even aware of because they were so minor," he added. For now, it is not known if anyone has been formally charged in the case.

Source: kyivindependent.com