ESBU detectives serve notice of suspicion to the official for abuse of power in the bridge construction project

 Detectives of the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in the Chernivtsi region have served a notice of suspicion to the deputy head of a state-owned road industry enterprise. The official was responsible for overseeing the acceptance of construction works for a bridge across the Prut River.

The investigation established that in December 2021, the official used his authority to approve construction completion documents, despite the fact that the contracting organization had failed to return a portion of the state-owned metal formwork used during the bridge’s erection.

These metal structures are reusable and can be applied to other construction projects. According to the terms of the contract, most of this formwork was to be returned to the customer upon completion of the works.

Despite the lack of actual return of the property, budget funds were transferred to the private enterprise based on the signed certificates of completion, including payment for the unreturned structures.

As a result, the budget suffered losses amounting to over UAH 2.5 million.

The official's actions have been qualified under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — abuse of office causing grave consequences.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

Procedural oversight is provided by the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office.