Following the ESBU investigation, institutional officials will stand trial in Bukovyna for causing over UAH 2.5 million in state damages

 As a result of an abuse of official position during the construction of a crossing over the Prut River, officials of a state institution in Bukovyna caused over UAH 2.5 million in damages to the state. Detectives of the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in the Chernivtsi region have completed the pre-trial investigation and forwarded the indictment against the deputy head of the agency and the chief of one of its specialized departments to the court.

The investigation established that the violations occurred during the construction of a bridge crossing in the village of Marshyntsi on the Novoselytsia–Hertsa–"Diakivtsi" Checkpoint highway. The construction of this facility had been frozen for a long time, but in 2020 it was resumed under the state program "Great Construction." At that time, a contract worth over UAH 171 million was signed with the contractor.

During the course of the work, a special metal formwork was manufactured using budget funds. Since these structures are reusable, the contractor was supposed to return them to the state or compensate for their value. Instead, the actual value of the property was never returned to the state.

Despite the contractor's failure to fulfill the terms of the contract, the officials of the state institution signed the certificates of completion and approved the financial documents.

As a result, the state lost property valued at over UAH 2.5 million.

The actions of the officials have been qualified under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of official position causing grave consequences, committed by a group of persons upon prior conspiracy).

The indictment has been forwarded to the court. If proven guilty, the officials face up to 6 years of imprisonment, along with disqualification from holding certain positions and a fine.

Oversight of the legal proceedings was carried out by prosecutors of the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office.

It should be noted that, according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in accordance with the law and established by a court's verdict of guilty.