An employee of the education department in Odesa region will be tried for overpayments for heating

Heating of schools and kindergartens in Odesa Oblast costs much more than it should, causing the budget to lose hundreds of thousands of hryvnias. The village council official is accused of negligence, and now her case will be considered by the court.

This was reported by the press service of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.

In Odesa region, a case against an employee of the education department of one of the village councils of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district was brought to court. Prosecutors believe that her negligence led to significant financial losses for the local budget.

The investigation found that in 2023, the official was responsible for organizing the purchase of coal for heating educational institutions - 7 schools and 5 kindergartens. However, she did not properly analyze market prices for fuel.

Nevertheless, a tender was announced for the purchase of 150 tons of coal at an inflated price. After the bidding process, a contract was concluded with the contractor, under which the village council paid almost UAH 2.2 million between February and June 2023.

According to law enforcement estimates, the local budget suffered losses of more than UAH 700,000 due to such actions. The officials were charged with negligence that caused grave consequences. The indictment has already been sent to court.

In addition, another similar case in the same region was previously brought to court. There, a city council official is suspected of improperly analyzing the market when purchasing fuel pellets, which resulted in budget losses of more than UAH 1.6 million.

Also in April, law enforcement officers served a notice of suspicion of official negligence on the deputy head of a division of the Department of Municipal Economy of the Odesa City Council.

According to the investigation, according to her job description, the woman was responsible for organizing and conducting procurement. In 2024, the department and a private construction company concluded an agreement on the overhaul of a high-rise building in the Peresypskyi district of Odesa, which was damaged as a result of an enemy attack. The official improperly assessed the value of the procurement item

Анна Бальчінос