Overstated the cost of works by 12.1 million UAH: an official of the Odesa City Council will stand trial

 An official of the Capital Construction Department of the City Council will be tried for causing over 12.1 million UAH in damages to the budget of Odesa. She is accused of abuse of official position during repair and restoration works.

Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Odesa region established that in 2020, the city department concluded an agreement with a construction company for repair and restoration works and strengthening of the foundation of the building of the Odesa Center for Children and Youth Creativity. The total value of the agreement amounted to over 46.3 million UAH. The accused, who headed the production and technical department of the administration, was appointed responsible for technical supervision at the facility.

The official detected that the works provided for by the design and estimate documentation were not completed in full. Despite this, she subsequently signed acts of completed works, into which false information regarding their actual volumes and cost was entered.

The volumes and cost of construction works, materials, products, and structures were overstated in the documents for a total amount of over 12.1 million UAH. On the basis of these acts, during 2020–2022, budget funds were groundlessly transferred to the accounts of the contracting organization.

Thus, damages for 12.1 million UAH were caused to the territorial community of Odesa.

The suspect was notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – abuse of official position causing grave consequences to public interests. The sanction of the article provides for 3 to 6 years of imprisonment with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions for up to 3 years and a fine. The indictment has been sent to court.

The former and current directors of the company are charged with committing an offense provided for by Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, namely misappropriation of budget funds on an especially large scale. They face from 7 to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. Both suspects have been placed on the wanted list.

Procedural guidance – prosecutors of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.

According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent of committing a crime until their guilt is proven in accordance with the law and established by a court verdict.