1500 tons of soybeans, missile fragments and fake statements: Mykolaiv City Council deputy organized a fraudulent scheme

A Mykolaiv deputy was served a notice of suspicion for organizing a fraudulent scheme to seize grain and misappropriate UAH 23 million. A pre-trial restraint is currently being imposed on the organizer of the scheme.

This was reported by the press service of the National Police in Mykolaiv region.

At the time of the Russian aggression, the official was a deputy from the OPFL party. He is the actual beneficial owner of a company engaged in the transportation and transshipment of grain and bean cargo. On the eve of the invasion, the company was loading soybeans for export.

After the outbreak of hostilities, the deputy illegally seized the cargo, sold it, and to cover up the crime filed a statement with the police about the alleged destruction of grain as a result of shelling.

The investigation found that the official organized the transportation of grain from a warehouse in the port to another location, prepared a staging with rocket fragments near the warehouse to simulate the destruction of the products. This allowed him to avoid liability to his contractors and file a claim for compensation for the "destroyed" property.

As a result of the fraud, more than 1,500 tons of soybeans worth over UAH 23 million were misappropriated.

The official was charged with organizing the misappropriation of another's property by fraud committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons on a particularly large scale (Part 3 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The Prosecutor General's Office has already served him with a notice of suspicion, and the investigation is ongoing to identify other persons involved.

The head of Ukrtranssafety in Mykolaiv region will also be tried for extortion. During 2023-2024, the acting head of Ukrtranssafety in Mykolaiv region established monthly "extortions" in the amount of UAH 500 to 5,000 from the carrier for the opportunity to work unhindered in the transportation of passengers and goods.

In addition, the prosecutor of the Mykolaiv District Prosecutor's Office, who together with a police investigator misappropriated more than UAH 4.7 million of material evidence, was put on trial. In January 2022, the prosecutor was conducting a pre-trial investigation in a case of obtaining an undue advantage.

In June, in Mykolaiv, the head of the housing and maintenance department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was served with a notice of suspicion of abuse of office. According to preliminary information, he misappropriated over a million hryvnias in defense procurement.

Анна Бальчінос