Ex-director of LCE sentenced to 8.5 years for embezzlement

The Zhovkva District Court sentenced the former director of the Zbiranka LCE Vitaliy Pugach , who was found guilty of embezzling UAH 740.7 thousand for the reconstruction of the Hrybovytsky landfill.

Taking into account the bribery conviction for which he was tried in 2022, the court sentenced Vitaliy Pugach to a total of 8 years and 6 months in prison with confiscation of all property. In addition, he must return UAH 740.7 thousand to the Lviv budget.

As indicated in the case materials, in 2018, the Zbiranka LCE, which was engaged in the operation and reclamation of the Hrybovychy landfill, held a tender for the reconstruction of the landfill with a total cost of UAH 26.2 million. As part of these works, the contractor was to eliminate the negative consequences caused by the collapse at the landfill in Hrybovychy. The winner of the tender was LLC “BC “Modern Construction Solutions”.

The investigation proved that the director of the Zbiranka Paint and Coatings Company conspired with accomplices who acted in the interests of LLC "BC "Modern Construction Solutions"" and unjustifiably transferred UAH 740.7 thousand to the company's account without certificates of work performed, which led to the waste of budget money.

In court, Vitaliy Pugach did not admit his guilt. According to him, he signed the first act of work performed for the amount of 5 million UAH, because these works were actually performed. He claims that the acts were kept in triplicate and were signed by all parties, but he does not remember who exactly. According to him, the performance of the works was recorded and controlled by the head of the department.

Witnesses questioned in court confirmed that part of the money was paid to the contractor without certificates of work performed, and all documents were finally signed by the head of the LKP, Vitaliy Pugach.

We would like to add that by a verdict of July 15, 2022, Vitaliy Pugach was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. He has been in custody since November 2023. Taking into account the circumstances of the case and the previous verdict, Judge Ruslan Zelisko of the Zhovkva District Court found 63-year-old Vitaliy Pugach guilty under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and sentenced him to a total of 8 years and 6 months in prison with confiscation of all property.

In addition, he must pay over UAH 100,000 in costs for conducting examinations and return UAH 740,700 to the Lviv budget. This verdict can be appealed.

Previously, the deputy head of the Ternopil RMA was sentenced to 8 years.

We also wrote that the SAPO referred the case of Ukrgazvydobuvannya officials to court.