Contractor's property seized in Odesa for embezzlement during restoration of Ukrainian Theater

In Odesa, the director of a construction company was suspected of embezzling almost half a million budget funds during the restoration of the Vasylko Theater facade. According to the investigation, the documents may have artificially inflated the cost of materials and the scope of work, some of which was not actually performed.

This is evidenced by the decision of the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa.

The judge considered the investigators' motion to seize property in the criminal proceedings regarding the possible embezzlement of budget funds during the restoration of the facade of the Vasylko Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater in Odesa.

According to the case, in 2021, the Obltransbud utility company announced a tender for the restoration of the theater 's facades on Pastera Street in Odesa. The winner of the tender was Grad-Stroy LLC, which offered to perform the work for UAH 26.5 million.

The investigation believes that after the contract was signed, the director of the contractor entered false information about the scope and cost of construction work in the acts of completion. In particular, this refers to the installation of corners, anchors, priming of metal surfaces and the use of building materials, which, according to law enforcement, were not actually performed or were absent.

The court materials indicate that the acts included data on tens of meters of decorative corners, hundreds of anchors, and other materials, although the actual performance of these works was allegedly zero.

Based on the signed acts, the utility company transferred more than UAH 9.3 million of budget funds to the contractor at the end of December 2021. Law enforcement officials claim that the damage to the Odesa Regional State Administration amounted to more than UAH 490 thousand.

On March 30, 2026, the director of Grad-Stroy LLC was notified of suspicion under articles on misappropriation of property by abuse of office and forgery.

During the trial, the suspect and the defense denied the charges, claiming violations during the examinations and incorrect determination of the amount of damage.

Investigators asked the court to seize the suspect's share of the apartment, land and car. However, the judge noted that the petition did not specify the value of this property, so it was impossible to assess the proportionality of the seizure to the amount of damage. As a result, the court concluded that the petition did not contain sufficient justification for seizing the property.

Back in 2022, Intent wrote that law enforcement officers were investigating the quality of the restoration of the Ukrainian Theater, which was carried out by a company associated with a member of the regional council. The investigation focused on contracts between Obltransbud and Bild-Pro LLC, headed by Teplytskyi.

According to the investigators, the company carried out repairs to the theater building with violations and inadequate quality. The history of the theater's restoration has been going on since 2016, and more than tens of millions of hryvnias have already been spent on the work.

Анна Бальчінос