NABU exposed ₴140 million embezzlement in heating and water projects
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office have exposed a criminal group that embezzled over UAH 140 million of budget funds intended to provide heat and water to frontline cities in the Donetsk region. The criminal group was led by the head of the Housing and Communal Services Department of the Donetsk Regional Administrative District.
According to the investigation, the scheme operated in Selydove, Ukrainska, and Svyatohirsk.
The first episode occurred in the spring of 2023. The defendants signed a contract for over UAH 200 million for the supply and connection of seven modular boiler houses in Selydove and Ukrainska with a company that was actually managed by a classmate of the official. And although they themselves installed the boiler houses and connected only two of them, they did not work due to a shortage. Investigators also discovered an artificial overestimation of the cost of equipment and work.
Another episode was carried out in Sviatohirsk under the pretext of restoring water supply and sewage. According to contracts, money was transferred for work that had not been performed or was performed without permits, projects, and with gross violations of regulations. The group members forged certificates of work performed, unjustifiably extended the terms of contracts, and pressured the heads of utility companies to accept the facilities on the balance sheet.
Due to corruption schemes by officials, residents of three frontline cities were left without heating and drinking water in the winter, and the state lost over 140 million UAH, which the participants in the scheme appropriated and spent for their own needs.
Law enforcement officers have charged five participants in the transaction under Part 3 of Article 27 and Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The organizers of the criminal group, the former head of the department, and his classmate were detained.
We previously reported that the SSU detained the head of the expert team of the Lviv Medical University for taking a bribe.
