Officials in Kharkiv Region Embezzled UAH 20M from Road Repairs

Law enforcement officers have detained a group of officials and businessmen who embezzled budget funds allocated for road repairs in the Kharkiv region. The amount of damage caused reached almost 20 million hryvnias, the press service of the National Police of Ukraine reported.

The corruption scheme involves eight people, including the deputy head of a territorial community in the Kharkiv region, village council officials, and representatives of contracting companies. For organizing the criminal scheme, the defendants face up to 13 years in prison with confiscation of property.

According to investigators, the corruption scam was organized by the deputy head of the community. In 2023, he initiated the conclusion of 12 contracts with predetermined enterprises.

He involved two subordinate officials, as well as managers and accountants of contracting companies, in the scheme. They artificially inflated the volume of work performed, underestimated the quality of materials, and saved on asphalt, sand, and crushed stone. Control over the repairs was only formal, as the specialist responsible for technical supervision did not visit the work site at all, as he was on military service. According to the results of the examination, the community lost almost 20 million hryvnias due to these frauds.

On January 28, as part of the criminal proceedings, law enforcement officers conducted six searches at the residences of the suspects. During the investigative actions, over 1 million hryvnias in cash, financial documentation, computer equipment, a car, and draft notes were seized.

Eight participants in the scheme have been charged under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including creation and participation in a criminal organization, misappropriation of property through abuse of official position, and official forgery. Investigative actions are ongoing, and law enforcement officers are working to compensate for the damages caused.

We also previously reported that in the Odessa region, the State Bureau of Investigation reported suspicions against a military unit official, whose negligence led to the misappropriation of more than UAH 2 million in payments to missing soldiers .

In addition, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, the State Bureau of Investigation detained a deputy commander of a military unit who embezzled night vision devices worth almost UAH 4 million . A preventive measure has already been chosen for him.