Position: First Deputy Mayor Berdychev. During the trial of the case, he was suspended from his post.
Sphere of corrupt activity: Sale of diesel fuel.
Region of corruption activity: Zhytomyr region.
Qualification: Part 5 Art. 191. Appropriation, waste of property or taking possession of it by abuse of official position. It is punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of 7 to 12 years, with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years, and with confiscation of property.
Status. He is at large. The court chose a preventive measure in the form of a personal commitment.
The story of the case : on August 19, 2022, the SBU declared suspicion against the first deputy mayor of Berdychev, Artem Azizov, and the head of the municipal emergency and rescue service, Pavel Kotyk.
According to law enforcement officials, officials illegally sold 31,000 liters of fuel from the strategic reserve worth over a million hryvnias. This fuel was to be used exclusively for the needs of defense and ensuring the livelihood of the territorial community under martial law.
In March 2022, after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, the Zhytomyr Oblast Defense Council decided to replenish the material reserve of the Berdychiv Tergromada with an additional 825,000 liters of diesel fuel.
This stock was to be kept at a local enterprise specified by official contracts. However, Artem Azizov and Pavlo Kotyk illegally ordered the entire volume of diesel to be brought in for storage in another commercial structure controlled by Pavlo Kotyk. In the future, the fuel was sold unofficially, and the profit remained in the pockets of Artem Azizov and Pavel Kotyk.
Artem Azizov denied all the accusations, saying that he wanted to disperse the fuel in case of enemy fire. He explained that at the time of receiving the fuel decision of the Defense Council, there was no fuel, and the city utility company took the fuel for the balance. There was no communal capacity to store such a volume of fuel, so it was necessary to contact all gas stations to place it. We barely managed to come to an agreement with Techservice LLC to store fuel in them.
According to Azizov, part of the fuel (4 tons) was given to the enterprise "Polissya-Ekosphere" to avoid a garbage collapse, and the rest was distributed for other needs. The case has already been referred to the court, but the actual trial has not yet started.
Persons potentially involved in the corruption scheme: Pavlo Kotyk, head of the municipal emergency and rescue service. He was also informed of the suspicion and a preventive measure was chosen in the form of detention.
Assets: In the declaration for 2023, Artem Azizov indicated that his family members (wife and father) own three plots of land with a total area of 2,810 square meters. m, costing UAH 69,270.
Artem Azizov's father also owns a house with an area of 140 square meters. m, purchased in 2018. Its cost is UAH 220,825. The apartment listed in the declaration belongs to his mother Zhanna Azizova.
Artem Azizov mentioned five cars belonging to his father Chingiz Azizov.
In 2023, Artem Azizov declared UAH 435,638 earned in the executive committee of the Berdychiv City Council. After his arrest, Azizov was removed from the position of first deputy mayor, but later he was given a place in the city hall.
Other income in the declaration belongs to Artem Azizov's parents. It should be noted that Artem Azizov keeps UAH 1,200,000 million in cash. and 40 thousand dollars. The origin of this money is not indicated, based on the assumption that the official monthly salary of Artem Azizov is less than 37 thousand hryvnias.
Artem Azizov's parents keep UAH 1,340,000 in cash.
Scandals: In open sources there is no information about other scandals related to Artem Azizov, except for accusations of embezzlement of fuel and lubricant materials, for which he received suspicion and is under personal bond.
Persons who should have reacted: SBU employees reacted to Artem Azizov's corrupt actions. Suspicion was announced to him and a preventive measure was chosen. But since that moment, almost two years have passed, and the consideration of the case has never started. Artem Azizov continues to work in the Berdychiv City Council.
Sources:
Deputy Mayor Berdychev was charged with selling "left" diesel fuel during martial law
The fuel scandal in Berdychev, Zhytomyr region: the deputy mayor was removed from office