An official from Mykolaiv is suspected of embezzlement during repairs at a checkpoint in Bukovina

A court has imposed a preventive measure on a former official of the State Customs Service who is suspected of embezzling public funds during the reconstruction of the "Krasnoilsk" border crossing in Bukovina. He was ordered to post bail in the amount of 665,6 thousand hryvnias.

This is stated in a ruling by the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Chernivtsi.

The Embezzlement Scheme

In 2021, the State Customs Service announced a tender for the reconstruction of the “Krasnoilsk” road border crossing in Bukovina.

At the time, the suspect headed the tender committee.

According to investigators, he rejected more favorable bids from two competitors—Techno-Bud Service LLC, which offered 97.7 million hryvnias, and Alternativa-V LLC, which offered 102.5 million hryvnias—and selected “AGRO CONSTRUCTION” LLC as the winner with a bid of 104.9 million hryvnias.

Subsequently, the contractor inflated the cost of materials—crushed stone and sand—in the reports on completed work. The suspect signed these documents without verifying them and approved them with the agency’s seal.

An expert examination established that the cost of materials had been inflated, and a forensic economic examination confirmed the unjustified transfer of over 3.2 million hryvnias in budget funds to the contractor.

What decision did the court make?

The court partially granted the prosecutor’s motion and imposed a bail condition on the suspect.

The bail amount is 665,600 hryvnias. The court also imposed a number of obligations on the suspect:

• to appear when summoned by the investigator, prosecutor, or court;
• not to leave the Kyiv region without permission;
• to report any change of residence;
• not to communicate with certain individuals identified in the case;
• to surrender his passports for travel abroad.

What the suspect faces

The official has been notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—misappropriation of budget funds through abuse of official position on an especially large scale.

The penalty under this article provides for up to 12 years of imprisonment, along with disqualification from holding certain positions and confiscation of property.

The court noted that there is a risk that the suspect might abscond from the investigation or influence witnesses, and therefore deemed the imposition of bail to be justified.

Ірина Глухова