April 1, 2026, 7:44 p.m.
(Odesa zoo. PHOTO: odessa-life.od.ua)
A scheme to embezzle budget funds during repairs at the zoo was exposed in Odesa. According to the investigation, the scheme involved abuses during the modernization of the heating system. The court has now set bail for the contractor.
This is evidenced by the decision of the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa.
The pre-trial investigation established that in October-November 2025, the Odesa Zoo announced a tender for the overhaul of the heating system with the replacement of boiler equipment. According to the Prozorro procurement system, the expected cost of the work was over UAH 4.7 million. The winner of the tender was Energorezhim LLC, which signed a contract on November 20, 2025.
According to the terms of the contract, the contractor had to complete all work by December 25, 2025. Funding was provided from the local budget. Already in December, the parties signed certificates of completion, after which the money was transferred to the contractor's account in two payments.
However, as law enforcement officers found out and confirmed by a forensic construction and technical examination, part of these funds was received illegally. According to the investigation, the head of Energorezhym LLC organized a scheme to seize budget funds.
This involved overstating the cost of construction and installation works, the amount of materials used and other indicators in the reporting documentation. These documents became the basis for signing the acts and subsequent transfer of funds from the budget.
As a result, according to the experts, the Odesa Zoo suffered losses of more than UAH 2.5 million. These funds were actually unjustifiably withdrawn from the budget and ended up on the contractor's accounts.
The investigation believes that the head of the company acted intentionally, using his official position, and disposed of the funds at his own discretion. His actions were classified under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, in particular, misappropriation of property on a large scale and forgery.
The court imposed on the suspect a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention in the Odesa pre-trial detention center until May 23, 2026. At the same time, the court provided for the possibility of bail in the amount of more than UAH 2.5 million.
According to the YouControl analytical system, the head of Energorezhim is Dmytro Burdak. The company earned more than UAH 38 million in public tenders from 2017 to 2026. The largest amount was in 2025 - more than UAH 8 million.
The solid fuel boiler that heated the elephant farm, the administrative building, and a dozen other animal facilities failed at the end of the heating season last year.
As Intent wrote, in late January, a court arrested the buildings of the Odesa Zoological Park on suspicion of misappropriation of local budget funds. During the inspection of the zoo's territory, investigators recorded the facts of non-fulfillment of some works: there are no structural elements, materials and engineering solutions specified in the reporting documentation.
Recently, law enforcement officers served a notice of suspicion of abuse of office to the contractor's director and technical supervision engineer. If convicted, the suspects face up to twelve years in prison.
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