Contractor gets off scot-free in Kherson region corruption case

In the Kherson region, the story of the court roof repair turned into a corruption scheme, where the figures in the acts were higher than the reality. Despite the proven damage to the state, the case ended without a verdict.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Kherson City Court.

Law enforcement officers were investigating a corruption scheme related to the overhaul of the roof of the district court building in the village of Velyka Oleksandrivka. The contract in question was concluded between the Territorial Department of the State Judicial Administration and a private entrepreneur at the end of 2017.

Under the terms of the contract, the contractor had to carry out repairs worth over UAH 614 thousand. Upon completion of the work, he submitted certificates of completion, on the basis of which the state made payment. These documents became a key element of the corruption scheme.

The investigation established that the entrepreneur deliberately entered false information in the official acts regarding the scope and cost of the work performed. In particular, the documents indicated an overstated amount of over UAH 574 thousand, while the actual cost of the work performed, confirmed by a construction and technical expertise, was just over UAH 502 thousand.

The difference of over UAH 72 thousand, according to experts, was the amount of damage caused to the state budget. These funds were illegally transferred to the contractor after the acts were approved.

In addition to overstating the cost, the contractor also used forged documents to obtain the money. The investigation classified his actions as official forgery, fraud and the use of deliberately false documents.

The economic examination confirmed that the transferred funds did not correspond to the actual amount of work performed, and the difference was unreasonably included in the acts.

Despite the established facts of violations, during the trial, the defendant filed a motion for exemption from criminal liability. The court agreed with this, taking into account that the statute of limitations provided for by law had expired since the commission of the offenses.

As a result, the criminal proceedings were closed, the defendant was released from liability, and the civil claim for damages was left without consideration. The costs of the expert examinations were borne by the state.

At the same time, in the case of embezzlement during the reconstruction of a hospital shelter in Kherson, the court extended the obligations for the suspected contractor. Investigators believe that he embezzled more than UAH 5 million by falsifying documents.

Анна Бальчінос