Misappropriation of over UAH 15 million during the construction of an anti-radiation shelter for school children in Bukovyna: ESBU notified officials of suspicion

 Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Chernivtsi region have notified the head of a village council in Chernivtsi Raion and a technical supervision engineer of suspicion. They are suspected of misappropriating budget funds during the construction of an anti-radiation shelter with a sports hall for an educational institution.

According to the investigation, the village council concluded a contract with a contractor for the construction of the anti-radiation shelter with a total value of over UAH 35 million. A technical supervision engineer was also involved to monitor the execution of the works.

It was established that during construction, false information regarding the actual volume of completed works was entered into the acceptance certificates of executed works. The technical supervision engineer approved these documents, after which they served as the basis for transferring budget funds to the contractor.

According to expert reports, a portion of the work specified in the documentation was not actually performed. As a result of these actions, the local budget suffered losses exceeding UAH 15 million.

The head of the village council and the technical supervision engineer have been notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 and Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—for misappropriation of budget funds through abuse of office, on an especially large scale, committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons under martial law, as well as for official forgery.

Over UAH 15 million in budget funds were transferred for the construction of an anti-radiation shelter for schoolchildren, works that were not actually fully completed. This is not just about building a facility; it is about creating safe conditions for children during martial law. The pretrial investigation is currently ongoing to establish all the circumstances," noted Oleh Borysenko, Head of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Chernivtsi region.

Operational support is provided by the staff of the Office of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Chernivtsi region.

Prosecutorial guidance is provided by the Chernivtsi Oblast Prosecutor's Office.

It should be noted that pursuant 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 conviction.