ESBU case: new suspicions announced against Odesa City Council deputy and her 6 accomplices in budget fund misappropriation

 Detectives of the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in the Odesa region, within the framework of a pre-trial investigation into the misappropriation of budget funds intended for the implementation of the targeted program to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and drug addiction, have announced new suspicions against the individuals involved in the criminal proceedings.

According to the investigation, an Odesa City Council deputy, in collusion with 6 other persons, organized a scheme to appropriate 2.2 million UAH in budget funds. To execute the criminal scheme, she involved officials from the "Center for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control" communal non-profit enterprise (CNE) of the Odesa City Council and an employee of the Odesa City Council Health Department.

In addition to them, individual entrepreneurs (FOPs), including relatives of the suspect and the director of a communal enterprise specializing in providing assistance to drug addicts, were involved in the scheme.

After receiving 7.5 million UAH in budget funds for the program's implementation, the suspects prepared acts of completed work, inflating the number of people who received help and including services that were never actually provided.

The acts also contained false information regarding the meals provided to persons undergoing treatment and rehabilitation within the program. It was allegedly provided by a relative of the deputy. As a result, the local budget suffered losses of over 2 million UAH, which is confirmed by analytical research and an economic examination.

Based on the collected evidence, the seven participants in the criminal scheme have been served with new suspicion notices under Part 3 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 366, Part 3 of Article 209, and Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — misappropriation of another person's property on an especially large scale by an organized group, abuse of official position, legalization (laundering) of property obtained through crime, as well as forgery of official documents.

To secure the compensation of losses caused to the local budget, the court has seized the real estate and vehicles belonging to the individuals involved.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. Procedural guidance is being provided by prosecutors from the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.