Suspects to stand trial in the Poltava region for misappropriation of UAH 2 million in budget funds

 Detectives of the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in the Poltava region have referred an indictment to the court regarding an organized group of individuals who misappropriated budget funds from the Poltava Oblast Environmental Protection Fund.

The investigation established that the director of one of the departments of the regional military administration created a criminal scheme to appropriate budget funds. He involved his deputy, her husband, and an acquaintance entrepreneur who employed certified land surveying engineers in the scheme's execution.

According to the plan, the entrepreneur was intended to win a tender for the preparation and approval of land management documentation for more than 20 nature reserve fund sites at a deliberately inflated price.

To achieve this, the scheme participants found several entrepreneurs who, at their request, prepared commercial proposals with prices almost three times higher than market rates. Based on these proposals, the officials formed an inflated expected procurement cost and announced the tender, which the acquaintance entrepreneur subsequently "won."

Following the completion of the work, the tender winner received UAH 5.7 million, of which over UAH 2 million was an unjustified overpayment for the services rendered.

Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Poltava region documented the illegal activities of the organized group, specifically the fact that funds, previously converted into cash, were transferred to the director of the department.

All individuals involved in the case have been notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — embezzlement and misappropriation of property through abuse of office, committed under martial law, on an especially large scale, and by an organized group.

During the pre-trial investigation, one of the scheme participants admitted guilt and voluntarily compensated for a portion of the damages. The assets of the other suspects were seized to ensure special confiscation.

The indictment has been referred to the court.

Procedural guidance is provided by the Poltava Regional Prosecutor's Office. Operational support is carried out by the Strategic Investigations Department in the Poltava region of the National Police of Ukraine's DSR.