A port in the Odesa region overpaid one million for electricity: two officials are under suspicion

A state-owned seaport in southern Odesa Oblast may have overpaid nearly one million hryvnias for electricity due to the actions of its officials. Investigators believe that between 2021 and 2022, these officials approved and signed documents that inflated the cost of electricity.

The Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office has notified the former chief engineer and deputy head of one of the seaports in the Odesa region that they are under investigation. They are charged with official negligence resulting in serious consequences.

According to the investigation, in 2021, following a tender, the state-owned port enterprise entered into a contract with a private company for the supply of electricity. The total cost of the purchase exceeded 21 million hryvnias.

<picture></picture>PHOTO: od.gp.gov.ua

The former chief engineer was responsible for organizing and overseeing the tender, as well as ensuring the effective use of the enterprise’s funds. The deputy director, who had previously headed the seaport for 11 years, oversaw the contract’s implementation, signed the electricity acceptance and transfer certificates, and approved the payment documents.

Law enforcement officials allege that the officials were aware of the contract terms but, in 2021–2022, approved documents with inflated electricity prices.

Specifically, in May 2021, the port paid nearly 1.5 times more for electricity than stipulated. And in December 2021 and January–February 2022, the price was inflated by more than double.

According to the findings of the expert examination, these actions caused nearly 1 million hryvnias in losses to the state-owned seaport in the Odesa region. Currently, two former and one current official have been notified of their status as suspects. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

As reported by Intent, nearly five million hryvnias may have been overpaid during the procurement of railway equipment for the state-owned “Pivdennyi” port. Investigators are examining whether the terms of the tender were drafted in such a way that the winner was determined even before the bidding began.

Анна Бальчінос