Position: Deputy Head of Economic Development and Strategic Planning of the Executive Committee of the Stryi City Council.
Sphere of corrupt activity: procurement.
Region of corruption activity: Lviv region.
Qualification: actions are qualified under Part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: at large.
Case story: At the end of April 2025, the Stryi City District Court of Lviv Region sentenced a city council official for purchasing goods for the military with losses of over a million hryvnias. During the procurement, the official unjustifiably included value added tax (VAT). The court imposed a suspended sentence on her with a two-year ban on holding positions related to public procurement.
As indicated in the verdict, which was published in the court registry in April 2025, Lesya Sypen, while serving as Deputy Head of Economic Development and Strategic Planning of the Executive Committee of the Stryi City Council, was authorized to organize and conduct procurement procedures.
During November 2023 - March 2024, she negligently performed her official duties, did not ensure that defense goods (FPV drone control stations, drones, sights for the Armed Forces of Ukraine) were exempt from VAT, organized and conducted purchases with unjustified VAT inclusion. Due to these purchases, the community overpaid more than a million hryvnias in VAT.
A criminal case was opened against the official for official negligence. In April 2025, the accused entered into a plea agreement with the prosecutor. The Executive Committee of the Stryi City Council did not object to the conclusion of the agreement.
This case was considered by Judge Oleksandr Pisarev, who examined all the materials and data about the accused. In particular, she had no previous convictions and initiated sending letters to companies to return the money. Currently, the City Council has reimbursed 810 thousand UAH, and claims for 244 thousand UAH are still pending in court.
The judge approved the plea agreement and sentenced Lesya Sypen to two years of probation with a two-year ban on holding positions related to public procurement. The sentence can still be appealed.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: no information is available from open sources about potential accomplices.
Assets : in the declaration for 2024, Lesya Sypen indicated that she owns two residential buildings (one of them was purchased during the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation), three land plots in the Lviv region, and an apartment in the city of Lviv.
For 2024, Lesia Sypen's income was UAH 2,585,282.
In the bank accounts of Sypen - 2,789,074 UAH and 1,505 dollars.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded to Lesya Sypen's criminal activities in a timely manner.
Scandals: Before the corruption scheme, Sypen was not seen as a figure in other scandals.
Sources:
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/fd2a7d54-61e6-413d-a22c-c16c759b4c29