Position: former director of the State Enterprise "Proskurivka" of the V.M. Remesla Myronivka Wheat Institute of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine.
Sphere of corruption: agricultural.
Region of corruption activity: Khmelnytskyi region.
Qualification: the actions are qualified under Part 5 of Article 191, Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: wanted.
Case plot: On August 31, 2023, NABU and SAPO notified the former director of the State Enterprise "Proskurivka" of the Myronivka Wheat Institute named after V.M. Remesla of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Vasyl Kobza, and the head of the private LLC "Lampka Agro" Zygmund Lampka, of suspicion of misappropriation of agricultural products of the state enterprise in the amount of about UAH 22.9 million.
According to the investigation, between July and August 2018, the above-mentioned individuals seized winter and spring wheat grain with a total weight of over 5,000 tons, which was the property of the state enterprise. Subsequently, the grain was taken to elevators and sold to other business entities.
To conceal the crime, the suspects entered into fictitious contracts under which the state enterprise allegedly transferred winter and spring wheat grain with a total weight of over 5 thousand tons to a private enterprise for storage. According to the conclusion of the forensic commodity examination, the value of the exported wheat is over 22.9 million UAH.
The actions of qualified persons:
- former director of the State Enterprise "Proskurivka" of the Myronivka Wheat Institute named after V.M. Remesla of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine - Part 5 of Article 191, Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine;
- director of a private enterprise – part 3 of article 27, part 5 of article 191, part 3 of article 27, part 1 of article 366, part 2 of article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Subsequently, in July 2024, the High Anti-Corruption Court took Vasyl Kobza into custody in absentia, whom NABU and SAPO suspect of misappropriating grain worth UAH 22.9 million.
The request of the senior detective of the NABU, approved by the prosecutor of the SAPO, to choose a preventive measure is granted. To choose a preventive measure in the form of detention for the suspect (Vasyl Kobza – ed.)
In December 2024, NABU and SAPO completed the investigation into the case of Kobza's suspicion.
This was reported by the press service of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, without specifying his name. According to media reports, it was Kobza. Regarding the second defendant - the head of Lampka Agro LLC Zygmund Lampka - the materials have been separated into a separate case. Both suspects are wanted.
On December 18, 2024, the SAPO prosecutor made a decision to complete the pre-trial investigation in the case against the former director of a state-owned enterprise suspected of misappropriating agricultural products of the State Enterprise "Proskurivka" of the Myronivka Wheat Institute named after V.M. Remesla NAAS for a total amount of almost UAH 23 million. Today, NABU detectives, on the instructions of the SAPO prosecutor, have opened the case materials to the defense for review
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: Zygmund Lampka, head of the private LLC "Lampka Agro".
Assets: in his 2019 tax declaration, Kobza indicated that he owns only one land plot in Khmelnytskyi.
In addition, the official declared a Mazda CX7 car worth UAH 240,000.
Kobza's income for the same year was UAH 120,797, and his wife's was UAH 1,110,213. However, the couple did not declare any monetary assets.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded to Kobza's criminal activities in a timely manner, but the former official has still not been punished.
Scandals: Several cases involving Vasyl Kobza were found in the court records. For example, he was suspected of fraud with financial resources, committed repeatedly or if it caused significant material damage.
According to the investigation, Vasyl Kobza submitted false information to the tax office, thus understating his company's tax obligations by more than a million hryvnias in 2017. However, the court released him from criminal liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. This ruling was made by the Yarmolynetskyi District Court in August 2022.
In another criminal proceeding, it is alleged that the director of "Proskurivka" and officials of LLC "Agroindustrial Company "Samobranka"" concluded fictitious contracts for the provision of services by a private company for approximately 15 million hryvnias during 2017-2018. In fact, these services were not provided.
The scheme also involved Profitland LLC, with which Samobranka entered into a factoring agreement, i.e., the transfer of debt. Profitland eventually sued Proskurivka to collect the debt. There is currently no final decision on the criminal proceedings.
Sources:
https://nabu.gov.ua/news/zavolod-nnia-pshenitceiu-na-maizhe-23-mln-grn-dvo-p-dozriuvanikh/
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/338810ea-4338-496d-813c-015ca7aefb30