Contractor is under investigation for embezzlement during renovation of perinatal center in Kherson

In Mykolaiv, a court imposed a pre-trial restraint on a suspect in embezzlement of budget funds. During the reconstruction of the Kherson Perinatal Center, the deputy director of the contractor entered false information about the scope of work and materials.

This is evidenced by the decision of the Zavodskyi District Court of Mykolaiv.

The court considered a motion filed by the deputy head of the department of the Main Department of the National Police in Kherson region to impose a preventive measure on the suspect on the facts of misappropriation of property on a large scale and forgery.

Reconstruction and misappropriation of funds

The investigation alleges that the suspect, who currently holds the position of deputy director of Budpostach-STSV, has access to documentation and materials related to the circumstances of the criminal offense, and can influence subordinates to destroy or conceal the necessary documents.

The pre-trial investigation established that on August 6, 2024, the company and the Kherson City Perinatal Center of the II level named after Z. S. Klymenko entered into an agreement for the reconstruction of the maternity unit. The contractual price of the work was over UAH 101 million, including almost UAH 17 million in VAT.

Investigators allege that the suspect, acting for mercenary motives, drew up certificates of completion with deliberately false information about the amount of work actually performed and materials used. This resulted in the transfer of over UAH 5 million extra to the company's account, which the suspect used at his own discretion.

Investigators insisted on the need to keep the suspect in custody for 60 days with bail set at UAH 998,400, as well as imposing certain obligations.

The court decision

At the court hearing, the suspect objected to the alleged circumstances, referring to the fact that the work was performed until the end of 2025, as provided for in the contract with the customer, and requested that a preventive measure in the form of a personal commitment be imposed on him. His defense lawyer argued that the suspicion was unfounded, as the suspect could not have caused damage in excess of UAH 5 million, since he had not actually received the funds, and the customer was in debt to the company as of March 31, 2025.

On January 8, 2026, the man was served a notice of suspicion of committing criminal offenses under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation of property in a particularly large scale during martial law) and Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (forgery).

The court decided to partially satisfy the investigator's motion. The suspect was granted bail in the amount of UAH 499,200 and ordered to perform certain duties until March 8, 2026.

In January, the court also imposed a pre-trial restraint on two officials suspected of extortion. One of them is the deputy head of the Kherson regional municipal emergency service. According to the investigation, Oleksandr Novokhatskyi, the founder of Budpostach-STSV LLC, acted as an intermediary in the transfer of a bribe for obtaining a contract from Khersonteploenergo.

Анна Бальчінос