Position: Prosecutor of the Holosiivska District Prosecutor's Office of Kyiv.
Sphere of corrupt activity: law enforcement.
Region of corruption activity: Kyiv.
Qualification: Part 5, Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: released on personal recognizance.
Case story: The State Bureau of Investigation detained a prosecutor from one of the district prosecutor's offices in Kyiv, who embezzled over UAH 4 worth of material evidence during investigative actions.
In a comment to Ukrainska Pravda, law enforcement officials said that the person in question is Volodymyr Vinnikov, a prosecutor at the Holosiivska District Prosecutor's Office in Kyiv. The official embezzled money during investigative actions in 2023 and did not return to work.
In August 2023, the prosecutor supervised criminal proceedings against a private enterprise. During the searches, he seized 4 million 242 thousand in various currencies in the hryvnia equivalent from the merchant. However, instead of transferring the money for proper storage, the prosecutor took it for himself. After that, he stopped going to work and did not appear at the address indicated as his actual place of residence.
Law enforcement officers detained the official and informed him of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of official position in the appropriation of someone else's property in especially large amounts). The prosecutor faces up to 15 years in prison. It is noted that Vinnikov was released on personal recognizance.
Literally at the final stages of the case - before the last court hearing, Volodymyr Vinnikov mobilized, so he must appear online at the next court hearing.
Background: In May 2021, criminal proceedings were opened due to possible embezzlement in procurement by the State Agency for Infrastructure Projects of Ukraine.
It was about several tenders for the purchase of first aid kits (medical equipment for emergency and rescue teams), which the State Agency purchased in 2020 under the government's program to improve road safety from Pharmedis LLC. In particular, in April 2020, 303 kits were purchased for UAH 60.26 million at UAH 198,908/unit, in October - 200 kits for UAH 39.79 million at UAH 198,982/unit.
As stated in the text of the court ruling in the case, the expected cost of the purchase was determined by the Department of Organization of Medical Support, Medical and Biological Protection and Labor Protection of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine at the level of 200,000 UAH/one medical device, including the cost of an automatic defibrillator of 166,570 UAH.
At the same time, according to the conclusion of the forensic commodity examination, the total market value of one such medical set for emergency and rescue calculation, which the State Agency purchased from "Pharmedis", was more than twice as low - 71,910 UAH.
According to the conclusion of the State Tax Service, the probable waste of funds on the purchase could have amounted to UAH 58.25 million. According to the tender offer, the winner of the auction, "Pharmedis", was supposed to purchase CORPULS AED defibrillators (fully automatic) manufactured by the German company GS Elektromedizinische from the company "Medinov". Instead, it bought from another company, and - through a number of intermediary companies. The prosecutor's office established that "Pharmedis" purchased 347 defibrillators from LLC "Advanced Medtechnologiya" and 156 pieces from LLC "REALTON" at UAH 132.29 thousand/unit. And "Advanced Medtechnologiya" purchased them from "Medinov" (147 pieces for UAH 15,921,523) and LLC "RIMED" - 200 pieces at UAH 118.65 thousand/unit. LLC "MEDINOVA" imported 147 defibrillators to Ukraine, which it purchased from the Canadian company JUSTACO Ltd. for 397,782 euros (2,706 euros per unit), the customs value was 13,149,576.99 UAH (89,452.9 UAH/unit). LLC "RIMED" supplied the same 200 units of defibrillators to Ukraine from the Slovak company OPTIMUM SK for 541,200 euros (2,706 euros per unit), the customs value was 91,341.8 UAH/unit. LLC "REALTON" supplied 156 defibrillators from OPTIMUM SK for 422,136 euros (2,706 euros per unit), the customs value was 89,903.7 UAH/unit.
In turn, the Canadian JUSTACO Ltd and the Slovak OPTIMUM SK purchased devices directly from the German manufacturer GS Elektromedizinische. According to the prosecutor's office, the above-mentioned long chain of intermediary companies, which are interconnected (according to law enforcement, registered at the same address, having common directors and founders, etc.) took place to artificially inflate purchase prices.
In July 2021, the Holosiivskyi District Prosecutor's Office of Kyiv applied to the Kyiv District Court for permission to conduct a search in this case at the home of the founder and director of Advanced Medtechnologies LLC, Oleksandr Mikhnovets.
During the search, a phone and cash, including 101,250 euros and 190,500 UAH, were seized from Mikhnovets.
Subsequently, in October 2021, the Holosiivskyi District Court, at the request of Prosecutor Vinnikov, seized these funds. However, the funds were not placed in safekeeping; Prosecutor Volodymyr Vinnikov, who supervised the criminal proceedings, simply "took them for himself," the State Bureau of Investigation reported.
Vinnikov stopped going to work at the prosecutor's office and did not appear at the address he had previously indicated as his permanent place of residence.
Vinnikov's case "surfaced" publicly for the second time when the Kyiv Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Pechersk District Court and did not apply a preventive measure in the form of detention to the prosecutor who "lost" more than 4 million UAH. Vinnikov is now at large, but the question of where Oleksandr Mikhnovets' money disappeared to remains open.
As noted on the website of the public movement "Manifesto 42", during the search, Vinnikov stated that he intended to spend Mikhnovets' money on his own vacation. And that this was even recorded in the search report.
For comparison, in the high-profile case of Igor Mazepa (editor-in-chief of the Concorde Capital investment company), on suspicion of causing losses of 7 million hryvnias, at the insistence of the prosecutor's office, the businessman was placed in pre-trial detention, and the amount of bail was 700 million hryvnias.
According to the businessmen, the court's decision to release Vinnikov on personal recognizance was made "at the initiative of the Prosecutor General's Office," where Volodymyr Vinnikov's father, Mykola, works. He is an employee of the Department for Supervision of Law Compliance in Criminal Proceedings of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine. Vinnikov's father has not been removed from his position as a prosecutor.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: being identified.
Assets: in 2024, Vinnikov declared only a salary (cash benefit) in the amount of UAH 331,265 received from the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office, as well as cash in the amount of UAH 520,000.
Persons who should have reacted: in the case of Vinnikov, law enforcement officers reacted in a timely manner, however, he is still at large.
Scandals: There is no information in open sources about other scandals in which Vinnikov would appear.
Sources:
https://zaxid.net/u_kiyevi_prokuror_privlasniv_ponad_4_mln_grn_rechovih_dokaziv_n1587438
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/1da608f4-4dc8-40cf-8a8b-40acb7d2ab21